Play, Pause, Repeat
by RRose
Summary: Bella Swan knows that YouTube's most subscribed gamer Edward Cullen goes to the same university as she does. She knows collaborating with him in one video will boost her fledgling cooking channel's traffic as well. What she doesn't know is that views and subscribers aren't the only things Edward can give her. Looks like their shippers might actually be on to something.
1. Chapter 1

"…and there you have it. Simple, easy, and delicious barbeque glazed ribs. The full list of ingredients is in the description below if you wanna check it out, and be sure to hit that like button and subscribe to be told when I make a new video. See you guys in the next one, and stay wicked."

"Aaaand, cut," Alice lowered the camera. "That was great, Bella. You're a natural at this."

"Thanks," I took a deep breath. Though I've uploaded quite a number of videos on my YouTube channel already, I still can't completely shake the nervous energy that wells up inside me every time the camera's on me.

"I want to do my video next, but that's just too tempting to just leave on the counter," Alice eyed the plate she was filming just seconds ago. "Dinner first?"

"Sure," I chuckled. "Dinner first."

"God, you really know how to make sauce, Bella," Alice moaned after taking her last bite of my barbeque ribs. "If you sell this by the bottle, you'll be a millionaire!"

I laughed as smudges of my apparently great sauce ended up on her cheeks and fingers. Alice is normally as dainty and prim as any proper lady, but if you put any grilled slab of meat in front of her, she scarfs the thing down with the finesse of a wolf.

"I think you better use a bib or something next time if you're going to keep eating like that," I suggested though my own face and fingers were covered in the sticky liquid. "You might get some on your blouse."

"Oh shit. You're right," she looked at the silk top she was wearing. "Better not get any stains, especially since I plan on using this for when we shoot my video."

"What're you going to do, anyway?"

"A haul for the stuff I got last weekend," her eyes suddenly brightened. "OMG, I totally forgot that I got you some clothes, too! Wait here. I'll go grab them really quick."

"Al, I don't need any new clothes," I grumbled in my seat as Alice hurriedly washed her hands and face before running to her bedroom. "Really. What I have now is fine!"

"Oh can it, Bella," she called. "You'll love these. And you're a YouTuber now! You're pretty on your own, but actually putting some effort in the way you dress will make a world of difference for your aesthetic. Gotta give your viewers a bit of eye candy to look at."

I knew I should trust Alice since she was the one with the successful fashion and beauty channel, but her idea of stylish just wasn't the same as mine. Actually, I didn't have a clue of what 'stylish' was exactly. In my book, comfort always came first.

"I _do _have eye candy in my videos: the food," I argued as Alice returned with a bag labelled something I couldn't read. "People watch my videos for the recipes, not for my clothes. That's what you're for," I reminded.

"Yeah, but image is everything," Alice plopped back down in her seat. "Do you know how bad it would look if a beauty guru such as myself would continue let her own cousin dress in the same ratty shirts she wears in practically all her videos?"

"I highly doubt your subscribers would care if your cousin, who runs a _cooking _channel, mind you, wears the simple clothes I've been using for years."

"It's not about the simplicity of it, Bella. I mean, half your closet consists of crap that's either torn, stained, or has some kind of hole in it."

I opened my mouth to say something, but honestly, I couldn't think of a decent rebuttal to that.

"Seriously, Bells. I promise I didn't get you anything provocative or…you know, _anti-Bella,_" she giggled. "Look at this. Isn't it cute? It'll go great with your complexion."

"It's nice," I conceded because the blue V-neck she held up was. "Not so sure about the neckline, though."

"Your boobs will pull this off just fine," she insisted, dropping the garment back into the bag. "Oh, and I know how much you love hoodies, so I got you a couple with all these adorable doodles, plus some shirts, shorts – "

"How much clothes did you buy?" I asked. It sounded like she raided a dozen stores just for the things she intended for me. "And holy crap, how much did you spend?"

The look gave Alice was a cross between amused and slightly insulted. "I bought enough. And money is totally no issue. You know Daddy's okay with me using the credit card as long as I stay out of trouble."

Well, that was true. Unlike my parents, Alice's were loaded. Heck, they were paying for my college tuition at Cornell _and_ the apartment we were sharing, and despite that, they still had enough dough to travel the world like what they were doing right now.

"How is he, by the way?" I asked as we began clearing the table. "He and your mom were somewhere in Europe last time you guys Skyped, right?"

"Yeah," Alice sighed. "I think they're in Thailand now or somewhere…I don't really know. I haven't contacted them in a while, and I'm not going to start anytime soon. Their nagging can be draining."

"They're still trying to convince you to enrol in college?"

"Yes!" she all but flung the dishes into the dishwasher. "They don't get that I don't _want _to go! The classes, the exams…university is just so stifling. I'm a free bird, man. I'm not about that school life. And besides, I have YouTube."

Though she had more than a hundred thousand subscribers with PiXieDust, the beauty channel she's been running since high school, Alice's parents still held the old-fashioned notion that the only path to success was higher education. They reacted horribly when they found out that Alice had roped me into the YouTube scene, thinking that I was quitting school to be a video creator full-time.

They only calmed down after I told them that I was only doing it for fun and for some extra cash. Of course, that cash was pretty non-existent when I first started ForksintheKitchen, but after about three months of constant uploads and nearly a thousand subscribers, the revenue was growing.

"Let's not talk about them anymore," Alice waved her hand dismissively. "Can you help me set-up the camera? I wanna film now."

"Sure," I smiled at her, and did just that. Minutes later, the fairy lights in the living room were lit, the tripod was set, and Alice was in the perfect spot to show off her purchases.

"Hello, my lovelies! It's Alice here for another pixie haul. I have a ton of things to show guys today, starting with this fabulous top I got for my cousin Bella…"

…

People usually assume that as a Fine Arts major, I live and breathe for painting. While that has some degree of truth, digital media is really my interest and forte ever since I discovered Photoshop.

Another reason why I prefer working with a computer rather than a paintbrush is also because a laptop is a hell of a lot more convenient to carry around than giant canvasses. Unfortunately, I have to keep realizing that fact every time I have to buy painting supplies.

"Ugh," I grunted as I dropped my backpack, my laptop bag, and the three canvasses I lugged around campus today to the floor of my bedroom. It was nearly six-thirty PM, I barely had any sleep, and I was tired.

_At least it's Friday, _I thought to myself as I booted my desktop. _Time to relax and troll the Internet._

YouTube and my e-mail were the first tabs I opened. I'm not the type of creator who constantly checks on comments, likes, and favorites, but I do occasionally check responses, especially the day after uploading. I had been up until five-thirty this morning editing and posting the barbecue ribs video, and I was anxious to see what my viewers thought.

Apparently, they liked it a _lot_ since the traffic was massive, and the number of comments it generated was a hundred percent higher than my usual average.

"Whoa," I muttered to myself, blinking in surprise. "Something's up."

There just had to be. Maybe Alice promoted the video in her channel, but she's always done that and my videos never got this much attention.

"I'll get to the bottom of this," I said as I scrolled through each comment. For the most part, they were compliments and suggestions, but there was one particular comment that got my attention thanks to the thousand thumbs-up's it received.

* * *

**CULLEngage **(8 hours ago)

this looks so good. wish I didn't burn water so I can actually try this. haha. great job **+ForksintheKitchen**

* * *

It was a pretty standard response, but when I noticed the poster's username, the reason why it was so popular suddenly became clear.

_CULLEngage commented on my video._

_Holy crap._

Anyone and everyone who hangs around YouTube knows who Edward Cullen, or CULLEngage, is. With over thirty million subscribers, he was the number one most subscribed YouTuber, and basically, the king of gaming. The let's play's he releases cover everything from horror to Internet flash games.

He's extremely good-looking, too; I'm not ashamed to admit that I, together with a multitude of fangirls, have a crush on him. Add that to his success, humor, and charisma, and you've got yourself a winning combination.

What was he doing commenting on a random cooking video, though?

And an even bigger question: do I reply? And if I do, what should I say?

Totally clueless as I stared at my screen, I whipped my phone out and did what any girl in my situation would do.

"Alice? I think I need some help."

…

"I can't believe it," Alice giggled. She clapped happily on the chair she pulled up next to mine. "Edward Cullen likes your video!"

"I can't believe it, either," I said. "How did he even find it?"

"Is he subscribed to you?"

"Uh…I don't think so?"

"Let's check," she started clicking links on my computer. "Huh. Well, he is now."

My eyes widened as I stared at the name she made my pointer hover over. CULLEngage was listed under my roster of subscribers. "How can…holy shit."

"Holy shit indeed."

"How am I supposed to respond to his comment, though? Do I even _need _to respond?"

Alice stared at me, appalled. "Are you kidding? Of course you do! You reply to every other comment you get. Why should CULLEngage be any different?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I get what you're saying. You're right. What am I supposed to say, though?"

"Hmm…" Alice returned to the video to post a comment. "How about something like…" she paused to type.

* * *

**+CULLEngage **i'd be happy to cook it again for you :D

* * *

"Al, I can't use that!"

"Why not? He studies at Cornell, too, so it's not like he has to cross state lines or something."

"Well…" I struggled to think of a good negation. "Well, what if he agrees?"

"Then he'll get his cute butt over here so you can cook him some barbeque ribs."

I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

"What's wrong?" Alice sounded genuinely confused. "I don't see where the problem is. You like him, right?"

"Yeah, but so does every person on the planet who's seen him," I told her. "It just…that feels a little too forward. And it's _Edward Cullen_. The guy probably has a larger subscriber count than the population of a small country."

"So? That isn't relevant. He's just a person, Bella," Alice reminded me with a nudge. "A really _hot _person, I might add. A really hot person who wants to taste your cooking. Take a chance! If he doesn't reply or rejects the offer, then that's that. But if he says he wants to take you up on it, then jump on the opportunity! You're just going to let him sample your dish – something _I_ do every time you make a video. It's not like you're going to marry him."

Once again, Alice's simple logic left me argument-less. I could see her point; why am I making such a big deal out of this? The chances of him replying are slim to none, anyway.

Before I could change my mind or lose my nerve, I grabbed the mouse and pressed the 'post' button quickly. The reply Alice typed showed within seconds.

_Oh my God_, I thought as the reality of what I just did sunk in. _What have I done?_

…

I didn't open my YouTube account or my e-mail for the rest of the day.

I was just so nervous, and my brain was working hard to overthink the whole scenario. Part of me was happy I basically asked him out to dinner, but another was regretting it big time.

_What on earth did I get myself into?_

As hard as I tried to resist peeking into my inbox, though, my resistance eventually weakened sometime around two in the morning. I swiftly clicked the link to the barbecue ribs video, scrolled down the comments, and immediately saw what I was scared and eager to read at the same time.

* * *

**CULLEngage **(4 hours ago)

**+ForksintheKitchen **it's a date :)

* * *

And along with that comment, was a private message asking me where and when I was available.


	2. Chapter 2

I closed my web browser swiftly before taking a deep breath.

I should have known something like this would happen. I lived more than three quarters of my life on the Internet, for cripe's sake. I'm well aware that this type of behavior is perfectly normal for fandoms, especially since I'm part of a couple myself.

It's completely different being at the other side, though. As I went through the hundred and fourteen Twitter mentions I got over the past nine hours, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

And it's all thanks to the Cullenry – the CULLEngage fanbase – and their incredibly fast Internet connections.

After replying to CULLEngage's message with another saying that I was available this weekend (and the rest of the week, let's be honest here) and that mine and Alice's apartment was a good place as any for me to cook for him, I waited patiently for his response. He hasn't sent one yet, but I figured he might be busy with course work.

He did tweet about me and follow the Twitter account Alice had set up for my channel, however. And that's when the chaos began.

I woke up this morning to an inbox flooded with notifications from Twitter about the mentions I was getting. The tweets ranged from people who thought Edward was just kidding, to those who started the #bedward movement, and to the poor, confused souls asking 'who the heck is (a)ForksintheKitchen tho'.

Needless to say, despite seeing stuff like this on a daily basis, I just had to close my e-mail for the sake of my mental health. The whole thing was making me even more nervous about having dinner with Edward.

_I need a distraction, _I thought to myself as I opened Photoshop, and proceeded to make the art pieces I've been commissioned to create. Aside from YouTube, selling digital artwork online was also something I did to get some extra pocket change.

"_You guys have no idea how happy I am right now_," Edward sobbed-laughed on my screen as I worked. Yes, I knew watching his videos was probably counter-productive to trying to keep my nerves calm, but I do genuinely like his content, and his voice is my favorite background noise.

The video I was currently watching was of him finally beating 10/20 mode on _Five Nights at Freddy's 2 _after about seven hours of real-time gameplay.

"_Freakin' finally_," he pushed his headset down to his shoulders, and pulled at his unruly bronze hair. I couldn't help but smile; he was still so handsome even when he was tired.

"_That was the most difficult, annoying, and fulfilling experience of my life. I am so glad I finally finished this fucking game, because I never want to play it ever again_." Edward chuckled. "_I know _Five Nights_ has another installment coming soon, though, so –_ "

"Bellsie?"

I paused the video and looked at my open doorway. "What's up, Al?"

"Just wanted to give you a heads up that I have a date tonight, so I won't be home for dinner," Alice plopped herself on my bed. "Hey, are you watching CULLEngage's videos?"

"Erm, yeah," I couldn't help the blush that spread through my cheeks.

"No need to be embarrassed, Bella. It's perfectly okay to watch your boyfriend scream bloody murder over a horror game."

"He didn't scream in this video," I told her. "And he's not my boyfriend."

"Yet."

"So who's the lucky guy who gets to take you out on a date tonight?" I changed the subject. "Anyone I know?"

"Nope, I met him on Tinder," Alice reached for her phone and promptly shoved it into my hands. "That's him – Jasper Whitlock. Isn't he dreamy?"

"He's pretty hot," I agreed, though I still thought Edward was better-looking. "Wait, Tinder? Isn't the one that's filled with creeps or something?"

"Not everyone there's a weirdo," Alice's tone was defensive. She snatched her phone back, swiped a few times, and returned it back to me. "I mean, look at him! Those baby blue eyes, that blond hair…_unf,_" she closed her eyes. "How can a face like that be a creep?"

"You realize a lot of serial killers and murderers are good looking."

"Quit trying to kill my buzz, Bella. We have a genuine connection," Alice grabbed my pillow and whacked my lap with it. "Seriously, though. He's really nice and charming. And I've stalked his FaceBook account, his band's page, his mom's account – "

"Okay, okay. I get it – you checked him out first before you agreed to one date," I held my hands up as I laughed.

"Damn straight I did. I do have a really good feeling about him, though," she hugged the pillow. "I mean, he's a History major and all that, but he doesn't bore me whenever he talks about school. Plus, he has no idea about my YouTube persona, which is…pretty refreshing."

"That's understandable," I nodded. It was difficult for her to judge sometimes whether someone liked her simply because she was being herself, or because she was 'YouTube famous.'

"Yeah," Alice gave a small sigh. "Anyway, if it all works out with me and Jasper, then we'll both have boyfriends at the same time!"

"_Al,_" I chastised, but deep inside, that idea thrilled me. "I told you, I don't have a boyfriend."

"As of now, I guess," she giggled. "Speaking of which, has he replied yet?"

"Not yet," I glanced at my screen. "Or, I dunno. I decided to close my inbox for a while. I'll check again later."

"'Kay," Alice checked her watch. "Well, I should really get ready now. I'll leave you to go back to drooling over CULLEngage's hotness."

She was out of my room before I could come up with a good retort.

"I don't drool," I muttered to no one, but I did continue my Photoshopping, and of course, my CULLEngage marathon.

…

_I will not overthink this._

_I will not overthink this._

_I will not – _

Bah, fuck it.

Minimizing the Word document I was working on, I refreshed my e-mail, Twitter, and my YouTube account to check if Edward had sent any type of response. All I saw were more Twitter mentions, subscriber and comment alerts from YouTube, and some spam.

Nothing from Edward, though.

Sometimes I wondered why I was cursed with such an over-active mind. I look into things too much, tear apart every little detail, and in the end, manage to conclude that the worst case scenario's happening.

In this particular circumstance, that worst case scenario was Edward figuring that I'm not worth his time, and he was letting me off easy by not contacting me.

"Dammit, brain," I rubbed my temples. "Why do you have to function this way? Just because he hasn't replied yet doesn't mean he changed his mind. Just…gah!"

I closed my eyes and breathed deep. "Okay, Swan. Repeat after me: Not everything is about you. Stop thinking that it is. So what if he hasn't said anything yet? It's only been a day. It isn't like he urgently needs to send you something. Quit being so selfish."

Nodding at my own speech, I resumed writing a requirement for my Art History class. The piece was finished quickly, though, and I soon found myself, once again, contemplating the million possible reasons why I haven't heard from Edward yet.

_Maybe he has a faulty Internet connection, or he hasn't seen your message yet. You're not the center of his universe, you know._

_But what if he just doesn't want to meet me anymore?_

_For fuck's sake, Bella, if you're that worried about it, then send him a message and ask him!_

_I can't do that!_

_Why the eff not?  
_

_Because…because I just can't!_

_Enjoy stewing in your own negative thoughts then._

I rolled my eyes at the rational side of the conversation I was having with myself. Sure, logically, I knew that if I was stressing out this much about it, I can just send a casual tweet or direct message his way to ask what was up.

I've been unfortunately bestowed with social anxiety as well, though, so doing something like that to someone I didn't know personally was just out of the question.

"I need a nap," I grumbled, collapsing on the bed and closing my eyes. Thankfully, my insomnia understood my need to clear my mind and decided to spare me for the time being.

…

My vibrating phone woke me up after what felt like only a few minutes of sleep. According to my watch, many hours have passed since it was already seven in the morning on Sunday.

Wrestling the annoying device lodged in my pocket, I didn't bother looking at the caller and just answered.

"'Lo?"

"_Hi. Is this Bella Swan?_"

"Yeah," I sounded a bit gruff as I tried to sit up.

"_Oh, good. I was worried this thing isn't updated_," the caller's light laughter sounded oddly familiar. "_Anyway, I hope you don't mind me calling this early. Er, this is Edward, by the way_."

"Edward?" I repeated, not fully grasping what was happening yet as the early hour still left me disoriented. When I did, though, I gasped in surprise. "Edward, as in…Edward Cullen?"

"_Yeah_."

"Holy crap," I said immediately. "I mean, uh…hi. Um, how are you?"

"_I'm okay_," Edward replied amusedly. "_I'm sorry, did I disturb your sleep?_"

"Yeah, but it's alright," I said swiftly. I was already wide awake.

"_That's good. I'm glad you don't mind me calling_," a brief paused followed his words. "_Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for not responding to your message right away. I hope you didn't think I wasn't interested in having dinner with you anymore_."

"No, I didn't think that." Yes, I did.

"_Oh, okay_," Edward said, and I could hear the relief in his tone. "_So would it be okay if I came over tomorrow or is that too soon? I mean, if you're still up for it, of course_."

"I am," I responded eagerly. "And tomorrow's not too soon. Tomorrow's perfectly fine. I still need to get ingredients and stuff, but…no, no I can do tomorrow." For the love of God, Bella, just stop talking.

"_Great! I'm looking forward to it. What's your address, by the way?_"

I ratted off my current residence and briefly considered what I was going to say next. "Um, if you don't mind me asking…how did you get my number?"

"_My roommate has some…connections to the admin office of the university. I promise he only accessed your number for me. He didn't look into anything else._"

"Okay," I chuckled.

"_It was his idea to call you, actually_," he explained. "_I've been in Florida since yesterday morning and I just got back to Ithaca about an hour ago, so that was the only time I saw your message. Emmett suggested that it would be better if I called to apologize rather than leave you a PM, so…yeah. Again, I'm sorry about that_."

I was feeling like a colossal idiot now. In my defense, though, my brain is just hardwired to overthink.

"There's nothing to apologize for," I told him. "And it's really sweet of you to call. The PM would've been fine, really."

"_I wanted to hear your voice, too_," Edward spoke softly, but he still made my heart race and my cheeks redden. "_Well, I've heard it before in your videos, but I wanted to hear it in person. Well, this isn't really in person since we're on the phone but…you know what I mean_."

"Oh," I didn't know what to say to that.

"_Sorry, was that too forward?_"

"Not at all," I was biting my lip again. "Um, your voice sounds really beautiful."

_Really, Bella? Oh yeah, sure, just randomly tell him he sounds beautiful. Is that even a correct adjective for voices?_

"_Thank you_," Edward said sincerely. I heard a banging noise in the background, and he sighed.

"_Bella, I really wish we can talk for a while longer, but Emmett…I'll just see you tomorrow. Is seven okay?_"

"Seven's perfect."

"_Alright. Have a good day_."

"You, too."

And with that, the call ended.

As I sat on my bed, I spent the next couple of seconds slowly digesting what just happened.

Edward Cullen hasn't changed his mind about meeting me.

He just called to apologize and confirm our date.

Holy mother of Jesus, I was really going on a date with him. Tomorrow.

Thankfully, Alice wasn't awake yet to make fun of the girly squealing that commenced.


	3. Chapter 3

Alice sighed for the nth time as I bustled around the apartment.

"Bella, will you please stop moving around so much? You're making me dizzy!"

"Sorry," I apologized half-heartedly. "I just have a ton more stuff to do." More like I was trying to work off the nervous energy that continuously replenished inside me.

"What else could there be? You've done everything already!" Alice threw her hands up from her place on the sofa. "You've cleaned the whole apartment, scrubbed the kitchen twice, and cooked not only the main course, but a dessert, too. The only thing left for you to do, really, is to get dressed and you won't even let me help with that."

"Al, you want me to cake on make-up on my face and wear a dress. I know you're the beauty guru here and all, but we're eating ribs covered in the stickiest sauce known to man. I don't think that kind of look's conducive for that."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "Wear whatever you want. But I _am _going to meet him before I leave."

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, absently rubbing my hands on my pants. Edward was due to arrive in about half an hour, and as I stood in the middle of the living room, I tried to think of anything else that I needed to do.

Alice's words thankfully chose that moment to repeat in my brain, so I hurried to my bedroom to change. After I was dressed in another pair of black skinny jeans, a clean pair of Chucks, and my new V-neck blouse, I combed through my hair and went to wait in the living room.

Of course, the first thing Alice did when she saw me was to appraise my outfit.

"Hm," her eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "Not an outfit I would personally pick for a first date, but it works for you, Bellsie. Hah! I knew that top would look hot on you. Edward won't know what hit him."

"Thanks," I grinned and checked my watch. It was a minute past seven PM already. "Well, he should be here any minute now. Unless he got lost. You don't think he got lost, do you?"

"You're really too paranoid for your own good," Alice said dryly. "Calm yo tits, woman. This place isn't hard to find; I'm sure he's fine."

"You're right," I took a deep breath. "Where are you heading, by the way? You know, when you leave?"

"Jasper's place," she replied. It turned out Alice was right about her and Jasper having a connection. She couldn't stop gushing about him when she finally woke up yesterday. "We're going to have a movie marathon, and hopefully have a little sexy time later. God, it's been such a long time since I've had sexy time."

"Well, stay safe," I said, jokingly serious. "You're not coming home tonight then?"

"I sure hope not!" Alice laughed. She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. "And if that happens, that means you can _CULLEngage _in some hanky-panky, too."

I had to chuckle with her. "As much as I can appreciate that horrible pun, Al, you know that's not going to happen."

"Yeah, yeah. I know you're not going to get your virginal ass laid just after the first date. You have to admit, though, your babies would be adorable."

"I – " a knock on the door caused both me and Alice to cease all noises.

"Holy – is that him?!" I whisper-yelled.

"Who else can it be?" Alice whispered back. "And why the hell are we talking so quietly?"

"Shit," I grabbed her arm. "I'm not ready yet! What do I even talk to him about?!"

"You'll be fine. Now, let go and answer the door, or I'm doing it for you!"

I released her arm immediately and rushed to the door. I was too afraid to look through the peephole, so with one last mental push, I turned the knob and opened the door to reveal the night's guest of honor.

I don't think I've ever considered how _tall _Edward is. The top of my head barely reached his ear, so my eyes went to his hard, muscled chest first.

When I looked up at his face, though, I was quite literally left speechless.

I mean, sure he looked handsome in his videos, but seeing him in person…there were no words.

With his messy bronze hair, sparkling green eyes, and well-defined jaw, he looked like the living embodiment of a modern-day Adonis.

What? I can do cheesy descriptions, too.

"Hi, Bella," he greeted while I continued to stare at him. His voice sounded even better than when I heard it on the phone yesterday. "You look beautiful."

Cue the red cheeks. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself."

He grinned and presented me with a vibrant bouquet of flowers I hadn't noticed he was carrying. "These are for you."

"Oh, wow, thank you. You really shouldn't have," I blinked in awe as I took it from his arms. Our skin made contact for a second and I swear I felt sparks. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure," Edward went through the threshold and followed me to the living room. Alice was waiting eagerly there.

Before I could open my mouth, she stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Alice, Bella's cousin and roommate. It's nice finally to meet you, CULLEngage."

"It's just Edward," Edward chuckled in reply. "And it's nice to meet you, too."

"I'll leave you two to dinner, then," Alice's grin was allusive when she turned to me, but it turned innocent when she looked back at Edward.

She left after a stuttered goodbye from me, and just like that, I was all alone with Edward.

"Would you like to have dinner now?" I asked after a second. "I already have the ribs ready."

"Yes, please," he smiled brightly at me. I smiled back and led him to the kitchen.

"Have a seat," I gestured to the dining table before placing his bouquet on the counter. I quickly got an empty jar of spaghetti, filled it with cold water, and placed the lovely flowers inside.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, it's okay. I just need to get the ribs out of the oven where they're warming and glaze it with more sauce."

"Okay, if you're sure," he reluctantly occupied one of the chairs where the place setting already arranged. "Mm, is that the ribs? They smell incredible."

"It is," I opened the oven door and carefully brought the tray of ribs out. "I hope you like a little spice. I added a little more kick to the original recipe."

"Ah, a girl after my own heart," Edward theatrically sighed. "I love spicy food. I'm sure those will taste fantastic."

Again, I felt the usual shy-modesty that always arose whenever I get complimented. I placed the ribs on the platter I already had ready, brushed a final layer of sauce, and presented it on the table.

"Here it is," I said. "Oh, I almost forgot. I made green bean salad to go with it. That's okay, right?"

"More than okay," Edward replied without taking his eyes off the food.

I returned to the table with the bowl of greens. "Let's dig in!"

Edward didn't need any further invitation or instruction from me. After scooping a few spoonfuls of beans, he easily pulled a rib off and took a bite.

"This definitely tastes as good as it looks," he moaned. "I don't know why you don't eat this all the time! I know I would."

I laughed to hide my reaction to the noises he was making. For eff's sake, they were borderline pornographic. The nervousness I was feeling before was slowly decreasing, at least. "If I did, I'd probably weigh a thousand pounds by now."

"Worth it," he called, taking another rib. I didn't notice he had already finished his first. I decided then to fill my own plate up lest I let Edward take all the food.

"So how did you get so good with cooking?" he asked. "Are you studying culinary?"

"Oh. Um, no. Fine Arts, actually. And I guess I'm a decent cook now because my mom wasn't. The only dish she couldn't mess up was cereal, so I had to learn how to feed myself growing up."

"I'd say you're a lot better than just 'decent', Bella," Edward swallowed a forkful of beans before speaking again. "Fine Arts, huh? So artist's on your repertoire, too. Is there something you _can't _do?"

"A lot, really," I smiled and took a bite of pork. "What about you? What are you majoring in?"

"Computer Science with a minor in Game Design," he told me proudly. "Pretty obvious with what I do on YouTube, huh?"

"Wow," my eyes widened in surprise. "So you have a difficult major with a minor on top, and you still manage to post videos regularly? That's…that's amazing."

"Thank you," Edward smiled down at his plate. "It isn't as hectic as you think, though. I took a lot of advanced subjects over the past three years, so the credit hours I need to fill for this semester isn't a lot. Plus, I prerecord a lot in the weekends."

"Ah," I nodded. "Still, though. You're kinda incredible to be able to balance all of that."

"You're too kind," he wiped his mouth and chin. "What about you? Do you just shoot every dinner you make?"

"Nah," I shook my head. "Most nights, I usually experiment with ingredients and stuff, and I think people would rather see a recipe that's already polished, tried, and tested."

"I suppose that's true," Edward agreed.

"How did you find the video, by the way? Of the barbecue ribs."

"Emmett, my roommate" he answered. "He was hungry and decided to torture himself by looking up cooking videos. He stumbled upon yours, called me into his room to show me, and…well, you know what happened next."

"I see."

"I should probably thank him for that," he mused out loud. "If I he didn't, I wouldn't be here eating dinner with you."

I blushed and looked down. The man was certainly charming with both his words and actions, and I was sure that if he keeps it up for the rest of the night, I would turn into a puddle of goo soon.

…

Thankfully, there were no goo puddles to be had after we finished off both the main course and dessert. It's safe to say my crush on Edward has grown a hundredfold, though.

After we cleaned up the table together, we took the conversation to the comfiest couch in the living room. Edward is really easy to talk to; I found myself sharing things with him with absolutely no reservations. He probably knew more about me now than most people do.

In return, I found out a lot about him, too. Like his hometown (Chicago), his birthday (June 20), his sisters (Lauren and Rosalie, who just happens to be Miss USA), his woes as the middle child, and his tendency to be a bit of a prankster.

"…then Rosalie starts yelling about the bananas in her room," Edward laughed loudly mid-anecdote. "It was hilarious!"

"Did she ever find out it was you?" I asked after catching my breath from laughing so much.

"Nope," he said. "To this day, she still thinks Mr. Jiggles was the banana-leaving culprit. How a tiny cat can somehow carry a bunch of bananas up a flight of stairs, I don't know, but hey, she never questioned it, so at least I was spared from a lecture courtesy of my mom."

"Your childhood sounds like it was a lot fun," my smile was wistful. "I wish I had siblings."

"It's not always rainbows and sunshine, but I wouldn't trade my sisters for anything," he looked sympathetically at me. "You have your cousin, though, right?"

"Yeah, Alice is great. We weren't always close, though. I used to hate her."

"Really?"

"She was just this prissy, annoying little troll who kept insulting my outfits and pushing me go shopping with her even when I didn't want to," I explained. "One day, while she was insisting on playing Bella Barbie with me, I finally snapped, told her to fuck off, and proceeded to tackle her to the ground."

"You actually beat her up?" Edward seemed very amused at this.

"Hell yes, I did. I was only around fourteen at the time, so I my dad grounded me for a month. But she stopped being annoying and we did start being friends after that, so it wasn't all bad."

"I'm impressed, Swan," he leaned closer as his arm draped over the back of the sofa. "I didn't take you as the type who'd resort to physical violence."

"Only when necessary," I said, leaning closer as well. "My personality isn't that feisty."

"I think your personality's perfect, honestly," his hand reached for mine and warmth spread throughout my body –

"Bella? You still up?"

Edward and I turned at the same time to see Alice creeping in. She froze when she noticed us on the sofa, sitting closer than I bet she expected us to be.

"Omigosh!" she gasped. "Sorry. I just…I wasn't' expecting to see you here this late, Edward."

This late? What time – oh. It was nearly twelve-thirty in the morning.

"Oh, shit," Edward cursed when he noticed the late hour on his watch as well. "Er, sorry. I just didn't realize how many hours have gone by. I'm so sorry; I monopolized your whole night."

"I didn't mind," I smiled reassuringly at him.

"Well, if you want to spend the night, it's totally cool," Alice offered casually. "I'm staying at my boyfriend's, but he just ran me here real quick for some stuff I forgot."

"Ah. Well, thank you for the offer, Alice, but I think I better get going," Edward looked at me again as he stood. "We both have class tomorrow, or in a few hours I should say, and I should let you get some rest."

"Okay," I said sadly. Now that I what was like to be with Edward, I didn't want him to go. "Is it safe for you to be out this late?"

"My place isn't that far from here. And I brought my car."

"Wait! Before you go, can I take a picture of you guys?"

"Alice," I began in a warning tone, but Edward squeezed the hand that he has yet to let go of. "Sure," he said easily.

"Great!" Alice already had her phone poised and ready. "I'm a big fan of capturing life's sweetest moments, and if the look on my cousin's face is any indication, this night counts as one of them. Can you two stand closer together?"

I bit my lip as Edward did as she requested and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I wrapped mine around his waist, and with smiles plastered on our faces, Alice snapped the photo.

"You two are so cute!" she giggled. "Maybe we should take ano – "

"Actually, Alice, I think Edward needs to get home," I interrupted. If we stayed and played model with her any longer, we would be at it until sunrise.

"Whatever," Alice shrugged and pocketed her phone. "I guess I better get my stuff now, too."

While Alice scurried to her room, Edward held my hand again as I walked with him to the front door. "Thanks again for the lovely evening," he faced me when we stopped moving. "I had a really great time, and the food was amazing, as expected."

"Thank you for the flowers," I said in return. "And I had a really good time, too."

"So did I pass your first date standards?"

"You went above and beyond."

His answering grin was brilliant. "Does that mean we'll have a second date?"

"I'm already looking forward to it," I told him honestly.

"Until next time, then," he leaned his head towards me and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Good night, Bella."

"Night," I responded breathily. I was surprised I was still capable of words.

"I'll call you tomorrow?"

"I would really like that."

Edward flashed me one last grin before he let go of my hand, stepped back, and walked away.

**Many thanks to AstridGreenEyes for making me banners again. The full ones can be found in my profile.**


	4. Chapter 4

People stared and gave me strange looks as I walked through campus.

Okay, that's an exaggeration. Nobody whispered behind their hands or anything, but I swear, some people did look at me funny. Or maybe it was just my paranoid brain at work again. Either way, I couldn't really bring myself to care; I was still caught up in the high from having a successful date with Edward.

I almost laughed giddily to myself just thinking about it. The tingles of happiness it always brought about were inescapable.

"Hey!"

I blinked and brought myself back to reality. A short girl with brown hair had stopped me from my tracks with an eager smile and a hand on my arm.

"Hi," I replied awkwardly, trying to figure out if I knew her. I couldn't place her face, though.

"You're Bella? Like_, ForksintheKitchen_ Bella?"

"Yeah?" I sounded like I was asking a question.

"Awesome," she nodded. "Sorry to stop you like this, but I was wondering if we can take a picture together? I love your channel!"

"Sure," I smiled easily, but inside I was a little confused. Being a relatively new YouTuber, I've never been recognized or stopped on the street. So what was with today?

_She must be Edward's fan, _I figured as she took a selfie with me.

"Thanks so much," she gushed afterwards. "So are you going to meet Edward?"

I knew this had something to do with him. "Um, no. I'm off to class, actually."

"Oh. Right, right. Well, I'll see you around! It was nice meeting you, by the way."

"You, too," I said, even when she wasn't paying any more attention to me. Her head was bent over her phone and her fingers were tapping rapidly as she walked away.

"Weird," I muttered to myself and hurried to Tjaden Hall for Art Studio. Thankfully, I wasn't late, and after the professor gave us instructions on the project we were going to work on for the next hour and a half, I took up residence on an available easel.

"Hi, Bella," Angela, the nice girl I usually worked next to, greeted as she approached.

"Hey," I smiled back as my eyes went to her hair. "I'm really digging the fire theme you've got going on."

"Thank you," she replied. "I played around with a bunch of shades over the weekend, but this was the end result."

"Well, it looks good on you," I told her. Angela's personality is very shy and reserved, but her hair is a perpetual attention-grabber. I think she switches colours and hairstyles every two weeks.

"You're looking pretty great yourself," she looked at me from head to toe.

"I had a great weekend," I admitted.

"Ah, so we're inspired," she nodded sagely. "I'm guessing that has something to do with a certain Edward Cullen?"

I froze. "H-How did you…?"

"I follow Alice on Twitter," she said by way of explanation as she brought her phone out. "I checked my feed a couple of hours ago and I came across this particular tweet." She handed the small device to me.

* * *

**Alice Brandon **(a)PiXieDust

midnight sweethearts #bedward pic/HOBQst…

* * *

I expanded the link to reveal the picture Alice had taken of Edward and me last night.

"Oh," I said in understanding. "Well, that figures. Huh, so she even used the hashtag and everything."

"Yeah," Angela chuckled. "By the way, I think you two look adorable together. It's no wonder 'bedward' was trending this morning."

"Thanks," I cracked a smile until her last statement registered. "Wait, what do you mean 'trending?'"

"Go look up the hashtag" she suggested. "You'll see what I mean."

I quickly did as she suggested and was stunned by the results.

* * *

**Green Eyes **(a)AstridCM

i love it! can they be any cuter? **#bedward** (a)ForksintheKitchen (a)CULLEngage RT: (a)PiXieDust midnight sweethearts **#bedward** pic/HOBQst…

* * *

**guest** (a)anonymous

you guys are insane. if there's no confirmation from (a)CULLEngage himself, THEY AINT DATIN **#bedward** #NOT

* * *

**Fran S Walsh **(a)SunflowerFran

**#bedward** I AM LOVING THIS. these two are adorable! ExB (a)ForksintheKitchen (a)CULLEngage

* * *

**taylor **(a)TeamEm9901

.(a)anonymous LEAVE OUR QUEEN ALONE. I SHIP THIS SO HARD YOU HAVE NO IDEA **#bedward** #shipperforlife (a)CULLEngage (a)ForksintheKitchen

* * *

**Aussie** (a)parkesy23

.(a)PiXieDust omg are they officially dating?! #feels **#bedward** pic/HOBQst…

* * *

**Ritahh **(a)Ritatx

really? she's pretty hot. ed hit the jackpot RT: (a)PiXieDust midnight sweethearts **#bedward** pic/HOBQst…

* * *

Those were the only tweets I managed to read before I decided to stop. I mean, holy lord above. Aside from those, there were about a hundred more replies plus over thirty thousand retweets and favourites, too.

"Holy crap," I murmured to myself. "I…had no idea this was going on."

"You didn't know you and Edward were dating?"

"No!" I declared loudly, gaining the attention of the students near us. I blushed and faced away. "I mean, no, we aren't dating. He just came over for dinner yesterday."

"You went on a date together."

"Yeah."

"But he's not your boyfriend."

"Contrary to what those tweets suggest, no, he's not" I mumbled a little regretfully as I handed her back her phone.

"Okay," Angela shrugged, easily dismissing the topic. She set up her canvas and I did the same, deciding to forget for a while as I painted.

…

I've sent Alice about ten text messages already, but she has yet to respond. I sighed and rested my chin on my hand.

I just needed some advice. Aside from the general feeling of…overwhelm-ness, I was also kinda freaking out about what Edward thought about everything. Honestly, I didn't really mind being shipped with Edward (who would?), but what if he found it weird? Sure, he seems to like me, but does he _like-me,_ like-me?

God, I sound like a ridiculous teenager.

My phone chose that moment to start vibrating violently on my desk. I snatched it and quickly answered the call.

"Alice. Finally," I leaned against the back of my chair with a loud exhale. "I was beginning to think you'd never reply!"

"Um, this isn't her."

"Edward!" I all but shrieked in realization. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were Alice."

"I figured," he chuckled slightly. "So, uh…hey, I was just wondering…have you been on Twitter lately?"

"Are you talking about the whole 'bedward' thing?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Yeah," he gave his own, slightly awkward chuckle. "I just wanted to call to see if you're okay. I saw how many people read your cousin's tweet and well…I just hope you're not freaking out."

"I'm alright," I said. "What about you, though? Are you…weirded out?"

"Not at all," he replied sincerely. "I'm kinda used to the craziness. My subscribers are kinda insane.

"I think all fanbases are."

"And anyway, I don't mind being shipped with you," I could hear the smile in his voice.

Of course, I blushed at Edward's words and immediately looked down at my lap. He was bringing the charm again, and making all the anxiety I had before vanish.

"I don't mind either," I admitted shyly.

"Good," there was a slight pause. "There was something else I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to do a video together," Edward actually sounded a little nervous. "You mentioned last night that you like playing video games, too, so I thought, why not record a video of us playing?"

I blinked in wonder. I was not expecting that at all. "Sure, that sounds like a lot of fun." I replied enthusiastically.

"Awesome," his obvious relief made me smile. Didn't he know I would agree to do anything as long as I got to spend time with him? "When are you available?"

"Tomorrow's not too soon," I mimicked his answer from our last phone call.

"Great. I can pick you up from your apartment tomorrow afternoon."

"What game are we going to play?"

"I haven't chosen one yet, but I promise, no horror games," Edward chuckled. "Unless you want to play some _Slender _with me or something. I've been meaning to try out some new indie horror –"

"No, thank you," I interrupted. "I'm okay with watching other people play, but having to control the character?" I shuddered.

"Alrighty. Absolutely nothing scary, then," he laughed again. "I'll see you at around one, then?"

"Perfect."

…

Just like last time, our conversation was cut short five minutes later when Edward's roommate Emmett announced his arrival by shouting 'PIZZA!' so loudly that I had to pull my phone away from my ear.

It was just as well, I suppose, since I had to start dinner as well.

I was in the middle of chopping onions when Alice finally showed up looking haggard but happy. I haven't seen her since last night.

"Hey," I greeted. "You okay? You look tired."

"I am," Alice yawned. "I was up all night."

"Mm," I nodded knowingly. "Well, did you have fun?"

"Of course," she smiled suggestively. "Jasper barely let me out of his bed! We only stopped when he had to go to class."

"A little TMI, but okay. Good for you, Al."

"Speaking of TMI, how did _your _night go? I know you didn't have any sexy time because Edward left before I could, but what happened during dinner? Did you make out? It looked like you were about to make out when I came in."

"No making out happened," I told her. "And we just ate. And talked. You know, like any normal dinner."

"Oh yeah. I forgot how boring you are," Alice rolled her eyes. "Do you two at least have some future plans? Or wait," her eyes widened in panic. "He didn't break your heart, did he? Is that why you kept sending me texts?"

"Way to jump to conclusions," I raised an eyebrow at her. "No, he didn't break my heart. In fact, we have a second date slated and we're going to collaborate in a video. The only reason why I spammed you earlier was because your tweet set out a massive fangirl storm on Twitter. Did you see the replies of that thing?!"

"What tweet?" she looked at me with a confused expression before realization dawned. "Oooh, you mean the one where I posted the picture? Hm, I haven't checked my feed yet. Is it that bad?"

"Well, it wasn't _bad…_" I drawled, scooping the onions I chopped and placing them in a small bowl. "It was just…_wow_."

Alice giggled when she finally saw for herself what I was talking about. "Oooh, we've got shippers in the house. I bet you love it, though."

"Edward does, too, apparently," I muttered.

"Hold the phone. He does?" dancing commenced. "OMG, I knew it! You two are perfect for each other! And did you say you have a second date _and _you're doing a video with him? Gah, the feels. I cannot!"

"Al, you sound like one of those tweets," I commented dryly.

"I can't help it! I'm so happy for you!" Alice ran around the island to pull me into a hug. "This is so great, Bella!"

Despite her slightly disturbing exuberance, I couldn't help but let a wide smile take over my face. If Edward's fans were excited about the possibility of me and him being something more, then I was downright ecstatic.

**Forgive me for making some of you tweet some stuff. I was too lazy to think of usernames.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, here we are," Edward gestured to the building through the windshield. "See? I told you I don't live that far from you."

"You're right," I nodded. His apartment really was close enough that the car ride only lasted a few minutes, but I don't think I can walk to it without having tired legs.

"Wait," he told me as soon as he had his car in park. He quickly exited his side and was outside of mine a few moments later, opening the door for me like a proper gentleman. "M'lady," he held his hand out.

"Thank you, kind sir," I took his hand and stepped out. Like last time, I felt the sparks run up my arm again.

_Huh. So the romance novels actually had it right._

With our fingers still entwined, Edward led me inside the spacious structure until we reached the twelfth floor. He stopped in front of a door marked with the number nine, and after fumbling with his keys, he allowed me to go through first.

"I'm sorry about the mess," he apologized once we were inside. Though the place was wide and open, almost every surface was covered by either a stacks of books, a box, or some sort of video game controller. I didn't mind though; the clutter gave character. "I tried to clean up, but Emmett…well, let's just say for every area I clean, he ruins three."

"It's okay," I assured. "Honestly, I'm not that neat of a person, anyway."

"Really?" Edward quirked an eyebrow. "Your apartment's spotless."

"Er…" I bit my lip. Do I tell him I tried to clean my nerves away that time or…? "Well – "

"Dude!" a huge, brawny man stopped me from speaking as he barrelled into the room. "I think I just found another Easter egg in _Dead Space._"

"Good for you, Em," Edward replied. "You know, you could've just Googled how to find all of them, right?"

"Where's the challenge in that?" the man chuckled until his blue eyes suddenly went to me. "Wait a second. Is this her?"

"Who?"

"Her," he gestured to me with his controller. "You're the barbecue girl?"

"I-I think?" I said after a beat. I was still reeling from his unexpected entrance. "Um, hi."

A wide smile spread across his face. "Dude, you didn't tell me she was going to come over. Hey, I'm Emmett, Edward's brother-in-law," He stepped towards me with an eager hand out.

"Bella," I finally managed to sound like a normal person. "Really nice to meet you."

"'Brother-in-law'? Really?" Edward laughed loudly. "Being a bit presumptuous, are we?"

"Hey, you know Rosalie will say yes…eventually," Emmett shrugged. "Like she's ever going to find someone as hot, smart, and funny as I am. She just needs a little time is all."

"Well, you're definitely one of a kind."

"So, Bella," Emmett turned to me again. "What brings you to our fine abode this afternoon? Are you going to cook for us?" he asked eagerly, pulling me forward by the hand.

"Jeez, Emmett," Edward brought me back closer to him. "Bella's not here to feed your fat ass. We're just going to play some video games. Get your own girl."

"I already have one, thanks," Emmett sighed dramatically. "Too bad she can't cook for shit."

"Tough cookies," I could hear the smirk in Edward's voice.

"Yeah, she makes a lot of those. I think I almost broke a tooth the last time she tried making snicker doodles."

I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Find some other way to feed yourself," Edward chuckled as well. "Bella and I have stuff to do."

"Fine, fine. I'll see you around, Bella," Emmett gave a toothy grin while Edward tugged on my arm. "Maybe then you'll be allowed to cook me something."

"I'll make you something good," I assured him.

"Sweet!" Emmett fist pumped. Before I could promise anything else, Edward pulled me into his room and shut the door.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," he grinned playfully. "He'll definitely take you up on your offer."

"I don't mind cooking him something," I said. "I'm guessing your sister isn't much of a cook?"

"Nope," Edward shook his head. "Rosalie's great at a lot of things, but handling the kitchen is not one of them. His mom's pretty…inexperienced in that area, too, so the only time he gets some decent home cooking is when he visits his grandma or my folks in Chicago."

"Poor guy," I knew his pain. "I'll definitely be cooking for him now. Do you think he'll be okay with steak?"

"If you cook him steak, you'll be his favourite person of all time."

"Good to know," I smiled just as Edward's phone started ringing.

"I have to take this – it's my mom. I'll be right back. Uh, make yourself at home," he motioned to the air before stepping outside.

"Okay," I murmured to no one as I looked around. Though I've never been here before, Edward's room was easily recognizable thanks to his videos. There was the familiar wall of posters by his bed, his bookshelf filled with video games, and more unopened boxes and packages.

I found his green headset on the desk as well, together with two computer monitors, his red microphone, and a high-tech-looking keyboard and mouse. Next to that complicated-looking set-up was his tripod and camera.

The bedside table was cluttered with a lot of books about programming, and I even found a Guinness World Records certificate for having the most number of subscribers.

"Sorry," Edward apologized when he re-entered. "My mom just got a new laptop and she was confused about how the whole Facebook thing works. Anyway, I hope you weren't too bored while I was gone."

"Not at all," I turned to look at him. "You're room looks really cool."

"Thanks," he rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "I haven't really had the chance to tidy up much in here."

"What's with all the packages?" I gestured to the pile by the corner of his bed. "I've been seeing those a lot in your latest videos."

"Random crap I haven't had the chance to open yet," he replied. "Some of them are games some companies have sent for me to try out and the others are from my online purchases."

"No fan mail?" I joked.

"No one knows my address," he said. "And I never give my PO Box away either. It just feels wrong to get gifts from subscribers, y'know?"

"I understand. I'm horrible with receiving presents, too."

"So if I got you something for your birthday or Christmas, you wouldn't accept it?"

"You don't have to give me anything," I replied automatically. "Really, Edward. Gifts are not necessary."

"We're going to have to change that," he muttered mostly to himself. "Anyway," he clapped his hands together. "I couldn't narrow down what we're going to play, so I figured I'd let you choose."

He moved to his desk and produced a couple of DVD cases. "_Mario Kart, Guitar Hero, Mortal Kombat, _or _Donkey Kong? _Or you want to try something I downloaded?"

"Hmm," I studied the games in his hands. "I haven't played any of those games in ages, but I'm curious. What did you download?"

"Only the weirdest and funniest ones I could find," Edward laughed. "We have _Starwhal:_ _Just the Tip, Gang Beasts, _and _Bombsquad._"

"Okay, those sound hilarious. I mean, _Just the Tip_? Can we play that?"

"Absolutely," he gestured to the empty chair next to the one for his desk. "Take a seat, Swan, and prepare to get your ass kicked."

"We'll see about that, Cullen."

…

We ended up playing all the games Edward mentioned and more random ones online. Being the more seasoned gamer, he ended up winning the most, but I had a couple of successes under my belt, too. I had fun the whole time, though, and my cheeks were hurting from smiling so much.

"That was fun," Edward agreed with my sentiment as he leaned against the back of his chair. "We should do this again sometime."

"Definitely," my stomach growled. "I think I need some nourishment now."

"Me, too," he patted his stomach. "It's almost dinner time, anyway."

"Really?" I checked my watch. It was quarter to six PM. "Wow."

"If you want, you can have dinner here, and, film a video of us making it. You know, for your channel," he sounded a little nervous while he fidgeted with his jeans. "We can use my camera, then I'll just send you the footage."

"That…sounds like a really awesome idea, actually." I grinned reassuringly at him. "A lot of YouTubers do that when they collaborate, right? They shoot two videos for each of their channels."

"They do," Edward nodded. "And Emmett would be really, _really _thrilled if you whipped something up. We've basically been living off pizza and Chinese take-out for the past semester."

_Doesn't seem like it, _I thought while my eyes subtly roamed Edward's well-toned body. He must work out a lot; I wonder how he found the time.

"…grocery shopping, 'cause I don't think we have anything in the pantry besides Nutella and – Bella? You okay?"

"Huh?" I snapped my eyes back to his. "Sorry. Um, yeah, sure. Let's go grocery shopping."

"Come on," he held his hand out, and like before, I took it unquestioningly. We headed to the mini-mart not far from Edward's place where he volunteered to carry the shopping basket.

"So, what do you want us to make? We'll eat pretty much anything."

"You boys like pasta?"

"Pasta – "

"Dude, it's Cullen!"

Edward and I froze and turned around to see two teenagers openly staring at us. Or at Edward, at least.

"Hi," the girl was the first to approach. "I'm so sorry to disturb you, but my brother and I are huge fans. We've been subscribers since you first started out."

"It's no problem," Edward smiled easily. "And thank you for the support. You guys want a picture?"

"If it wouldn't be too much of a bother," the girl turned to her brother. "Mike! Come on, get over here!"

Mike's eyes widened as our attention went to him, but he hurried until he was next to his sister. I volunteered to take the photos for them, but the girl, who was named Jessica, insisted I join in at least one.

"My friends are going to be so jealous," Jessica assumed selfie position. "I am _definitely _posting this on Facebook tonight."

_Here come more shippers, _I thought to myself as I smiled to the camera's lens.

Can't say I mind _that _so much, though.


	6. Chapter 6

"What's so funny?"

"Hm?" my eyes went from my laptop to Alice who sat across the sofa. "Oh. Just these clips. Edward finally sent me the footage from yesterday."

"The ones from when you played games? I thought Edward already posted that video."

"He did, but this isn't that. This is from when we cooked dinner."

The seafood pasta dish and brownies we made were really quite simple, but with Edward as my assistant, the whole process became a hundred times more entertaining. There were a lot of sexual innuendos –

"_For this particular dish, we're going to be using shrimp," I gestured to the shellfish on the counter. "But you can use any other type of protein you want."_

"_Like what?" Edward asked._

"_Other seafood can work," I answered. "Or if you have some lovely sausage lying around, you can definitely use that. If you want to use meat, however, I suggest you beat it first so it isn't hard and tough."_

_A moment of silence filled the room before I said,"That sounded wrong," and Edward burst out laughing._

– interesting metaphors –

"_Now we'll just leave the brownies to bake for about twenty to twenty-five minutes," I said after closing the oven door. "When they finish baking, the top should feel firm while the inside should be soft and squidgy."_

"_Like a breast," Edward provided helpfully for comparison._

– and horrible puns.

_I readied the chopping board and peppers as I asked "How spicy do you want the shrimps?"_

"_Very," Edward told me without stopping in his task. He volunteered to peel the shellfish since he was convinced he would burn the whole place down if he handled stove duties. "But don't set my stomach on fire."_

"_Right," I chuckled. "Hey, what does a nosy pepper do?"_

"_What?"_

"_He gets jalapeno business," I answered with hand gestures._

_Edward, thankfully, didn't think that pun was too terrible as he started laughing with me. "Do you think we have enough butter to cover all that corn?"_

"_What, you didn't find that a-peeling?"_

"_I'd say it's an overused yoke."_

In the end, it all went well and everything was delicious. Edward and Emmett seemed to like them, anyway.

"That looks sweet," Alice commented. I hadn't noticed she was peeking at my screen. "Who's that big guy?"

"Emmett," I told her. "Edward's best friend, roommate, and his sister Rosalie's boyfriend."

"No way, he's dating Rosalie Cullen?"

"Yep. Apparently, they've been together for nearly five years now."

"Cool," Alice nodded. "I can totally picture him and Miss America together. Speaking of boyfriends, I wanted to ask you something."

I sighed; I had an idea about where this was going. "No, Al, Edward and I aren't – "

"I wasn't going to ask you that, silly," Alice bumped my shoulder. "Tomorrow's the day before Valentine's Day, and Jasper and I are going out for dinner. We didn't want to go out on the fourteenth because the restaurants are going to be filled with couples, and we can't be bothered to deal with crowds."

"Okay?" I looked at her strangely. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would join us. Jasper wants to meet you."

"Really?" I said. "It's your first Valentine's Day as a couple; are you sure you want to have a third wheel tagging along?"

"Bellsie, you won't be a third wheel," Alice rolled her eyes like that was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I'm totally cool with it. We'll have more opportunities to have dinner alone, and I want you to meet him, too."

"Well…okay," I smiled. "What time and where do you wanna meet?"

"Seven thirty-ish at that new bar and grill that opened near campus. Jasper's band is playing there tomorrow night."

"Alright."

"You're welcome to bring anyone, by the way," she added. On the surface, the suggestion seemed innocent, but I could hear the hidden meaning behind it.

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied dryly, going back to my laptop.

…

"Crap, shit, crap," I cursed under my breath as I brisk walked as fast as I could. I had just left the graphic design studio where I was fulfilling my required internship hours, and I was kinda late for dinner.

No, wait, scratch the 'kinda.' I _was _late.

My legs were getting tired from running around so much that I almost wept with joy when I realized how close I was to my destination. The exhaustion must have been affecting my vision, too, because without warning, I ran into something hard.

"Oof!"

"Hey, easy there," a warm voice spoke as arms steadied me. "Bella?"

"Edward," I breathed as I looked up at him. "Hey."

"Hi," his eyes danced with amusement. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I reassured him. "Just a little out of it, I think."

"Okay," he rubbed my forearms once before dropping his hands. "Where are you running off to?"

"To meet with Alice. She's introducing me to her boyfriend tonight, and I'm about half an hour late."

"Oh," Edward nodded quickly, and I could hear the disappointment in his tone.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered with a small smile. "I just thought that since you're here, we can…but you already have prior obligations and all, so maybe we can have dinner next time."

"Or you can come with me," I spoke the words before really thinking about them. It was too late to take them back now, though…not that I wanted to. "I – Alice said it was okay for me to bring a guest."

His face immediately brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah. That is, if you want to."

"Of course I do," he beamed at me. "You're sure I won't be intruding?"

"Not at all," I replied. If anything, Alice would probably die in a shipping fit if I showed up with Edward, but I didn't tell him that.

"Great!" like it was a gesture we did all the time (which it pretty much was), Edward grabbed my hand. "So where are we going?"

"_The Metro_ – you know that grill that opened two weeks ago?" surprisingly, my voice sounded perfectly normal as we walked with our hands linked; I still wasn't used to the amazing sensation.

"Oh, yeah. A couple of buddies of mine went to check that out a few days ago," he told me. "They said their ribs are awesome, but I know nothing can beat yours."

My cheeks predictably turned red. "You don't know that."

"Yes I do," Edward replied with conviction just as _The Metro _came into view. The place wasn't teeming with people, but there was a large enough crowd to make looking for Alice a little harder.

"Do you see Alice?" I asked Edward while I scanned the dining area.

"I think," he said. "Is that her? In the booth near the stage."

I craned my neck, and sure enough, my exuberant cousin was there. "That's her. Come on."

"Bella!" Alice smiled and waved as soon as I was close enough. "God, I was getting so worried! Where were –" she stopped talking when she noticed my companion. "Never mind. Hi, Edward."

"Hello, Alice," Edward smiled at her. "I hope it's okay if I join you for dinner."

"More than okay," Alice grinned back. She winked at me before gesturing to the bench across her. "Go ahead and sit down. I just ordered some appetizers."

"Where's Jasper?" I scooted so that Edward had room.

"He has some stuff to fix backstage. He'll be back in a –"

"Hey," a breathless blond man made his appearance suddenly. He leaned down to kiss Alice on the cheek. "Sorry I took so long. Brian broke one of the strings on his bass and Kyle's girlfriend was giving him hell. It's pretty chaotic back there."

"It's okay," Alice patted the space beside her. "Anyway, you're just in time. Bella arrived, like, a few seconds ago."

"Ah, so this is the infamous Bella," Jasper smiled at me. "Alice talks a lot about you. All good things, I promise."

"That's good," I laughed. "And Alice had all nice things to say about you, too. Oh, uh, this is Edward by the way." I gestured to my seatmate. "Edward, this is Jasper, Alice's boyfriend."

"How's it going, man?" Jasper held his hand out across the table, which Edward shook.

"I'm good. You?"

"Can't complain about much," he settled fully where he sat and wrapped his arm around Alice. "So you're Bella's boyfriend?"

"Oh, he's not – "

"Hi," a friendly waitress stopped me from speaking. "You guys ordered the spicy wings?"

She started unloading her tray while I smiled apologetically at Edward. He didn't look uncomfortable, though, and simply smiled back. He squeezed my hand that he was still holding on his lap.

The previous conversation was forgotten once we started eating. Topics moved from Jasper's band, Coven, to the video game Edward and Emmett were developing. Eventually, YouTube became the main focus of the discussion.

"I wish I can attend more conventions," Alice sighed. "The last time I went to anything like that was VidCon last year. Maybe I can attend Playlist Live. It's this month, right?"

"Last weekend, actually" Edward corrected. "It was why I didn't get to reply to Bella right away. I hadn't planned on going, but a couple of friends at the other side of the pond convinced me to fly out to Florida even for just a day."

I nodded as he'd already explained that to me on our first date.

"Oh. Well, maybe I can go next year, then. How was it? Was it fun?"

"Yeah, it was good to see them again," Edward said. "My favorite part has to be when Liam and Riley challenged me to a _Just Dance _battle on stage. And of course the meet and greet with subscribers."

"I never knew YouTube was such a tight community," Jasper remarked. "You'd think that isolating yourself in a room and talking to camera would make you lose human interaction, but it actually supports it."

"It's a great way to meet new people with similar interests," Alice agreed.

"I definitely owe a lot to it," Edward added. His eyes cut to mine for a brief, meaningful second. "Without YouTube, I probably wouldn't have met a lot of people I care about."

For the second time that night, I blushed and tried to control the feels that were building in my stomach. I caught a glimpse of Alice looking quickly between Edward and I, but thankfully, she didn't say anything. After our dinner, Jasper took the stage to perform with his band, and we spent the rest of the night listening to good music.

…

It was late when Alice and I got to our apartment, but that didn't spare me from the questioning I just knew I was going to get.

"Al," I whined as I fell on my bed. "Like I've told you a million times, there is _nothing _going on between Edward and me!"

"Bella," she said in the same tone. "A blind man couldn't miss the chemistry between you two. It's so obvious that he likes you! How close you guys were sitting, his words…and you like him, too, right?"

"I really do," I admitted with a sigh. "And I _think _he likes me back…God, this sounds like a conversation two high school students should be having."

"I never got to have conversations like this with you in high school," Alice mused. "You were just never interested in boys. Better late than never, I guess."

I made a noncommittal noise as I stared at my ceiling.

"Oh shoot, I almost forgot it's my friend's birthday today. Can I borrow your computer for a second? I'm too lazy to get my laptop."

"Go ahead," I lifted my arm tiredly.

For a while, the only sounds that filled my bedroom were the sounds of mouse clicks and keyboard keys. Part of me was grateful that Alice was no longer going on about Edward, but another part wanted to talk about it. Without someone to talk to, I was left to my own thoughts again, and that was never a good thing.

_Let the over thinking commence._

I didn't get to have much progress, however, as Alice's excited voice interrupted my internal debates.

"Oho, I am _so _tagging you when I do the boyfriend tag with Jasper."

"Al, you can only tag people with actual boyfriends," I huffed. "And no matter how much you wish otherwise, I'm not one of those people."

"Not anymore you're not."

"What do you mean?" I sat up. "What're you talking about?"

"Come look at this, Bella," Alice moved to the side so that I could see what was on the computer screen. It was her YouTube subscriptions page, and among the newest uploads was one from Edward that was posted just a minute ago at midnight.

It was titled 'MY GIRLFRIEND' and on the thumbnail was a face I knew all too well: mine.


	7. Chapter 7

"_How's it going, bros? My name's Edward, and welcome to another Friday video…thing. I should really have given this a name by now," _on-screen Edward greeted. The clothes he had on were the same ones I saw him wearing just about an hour ago.

"_I'm sure by now you've read the title, and are either dying in a mush of fangirling – I know what you people are up to," _he raised an eyebrow knowingly. _" – or just completely confused. Either way, this video ought to be helpful…hopefully._

"_If you've been hanging around Twitter lately, you'll know that something called 'bedward' has been trending. This is the ship name people apparently chose for me and fellow YouTuber, Bella Swan –"_ a picture of me flashed next to his face. " –_ after she and I…started being friends, I guess you can say._

"_Now I'm being pelted with questions about whether or not she and I are dating. It's been getting more than a little insane, and I feel like I should address this already. So, I'm here to answer that once and for all."_

I leaned forward in my seat in silent anticipation. _Holy crap, this is it._

Edward paused slightly and inhaled. _"Bella and I…" _

Another pause.

"…_are not in a relationship," _he finished in the most anticlimactic way possible. My heart stopped as I heard Alice gasp next to me.

"_But, I want to change that," _he continued, and just like that, the rapid pounding of my heart returned. "_I'm not really looking for anyone at the moment, but that's when you find 'the one,' right? When you're not looking? And I really do think that the 'one'…is her."_

He adjusted his position so that he was sitting up straight and he was looking straight at me through the camera. _"Bella, I'm not sure when you're going to see this, but when you do…I want you to know that I've never met anyone who inspires me, or intrigues me, or just…makes me feel happy the way you do. After spending more time with you tonight, I just…I had to make this. The past few days that I've known you are some of the best I've ever had, and so I wanted to ask…_

"_Will you make the title of this video a reality and be my girlfriend?" _Edward smiled shyly, his eyes shining with hope, before the video ended.

For a long minute, I simply sat there with my mouth open and my eyes wide.

Edward Cullen just asked me out.

Through a video.

_Holy lord._

Before I could even attempt to say or do anything, a phone appeared in front of my face. "Take it," Alice demanded eagerly. "Come on, he'll answer any second now!"

I quickly took the small device and held it to my ear. I was still a little frozen with surprise, so as soon as I heard the warm 'Bella?' from the other end, I blurted out the first thing I thought of.

"Yes," I said quickly. "I – I saw the video. And my answer is yes."

"_You – what?" _Edward sounded confused for a second, but his next words were tinged with excitement. "_Wait, so you – you'll go out with me?"_

"Of course I will," I let a wide grin spread across my face. "I really like you, too, Edward."

"_Yes!" _he gave a loud cheer followed by joyful laughter. _"You have no idea how happy I am right now."_

"I think I have some idea," I laughed with him, feeling lighter than ever.

He sighed. _"I wish it wasn't too late for me to come over. I want to see you."_

"Me, too," I looked around my room to see that I was alone. "Alice probably headed to bed, and she doesn't like her sleep being disturbed."

"_I'll come around first thing in the morning."_

"And I'll make you breakfast."

"_Looking forward to it," _he replied as I yawned. I've been up since eight this morning, and after all the events of today (and not having the chance to nap this afternoon), I was starting to feel my tiredness. _"I should probably let you get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart."_

"Okay," I blushed at his endearment. "Good night."

"_Happy Valentine's Day."_

"So far, it's turning out to be my best one yet."

…

By seven-forty-five the next day, I was already up and active in the kitchen.

It didn't matter that I was a night owl or that it was Saturday – I was just eager to give my boyfriend the best breakfast ever.

Boyfriend. I have a boyfriend. And it's not just anyone either. It's Edward Cullen.

I giggled as the warm, giddy sensation that could only be described as feels built in my stomach. I was almost positive that the video and the phone call were all just part of a cruel dream when I woke up, but after checking my subscriptions and seeing the evidence still there, I knew that it was all real.

"Shoot," I quickly turned down the fire under one of my pans. My musings almost made me burn the butter.

Thankfully, nothing was damaged and I got a good start on the meal I was making. I had only been cooking for ten minutes or so when I heard a soft knock from the front door.

"That can't be him, can it?" I asked myself in whisper.

_It's only about eight in the morning, Bella. Are you expecting anyone else to show up this early?_

_The postman does sometimes, _I argued internally as I rushed to let my guest in.

I was immediately greeted with a colorful bouquet and the fluffiest stuffed sheep I've ever seen. Before I could open my mouth to say…something, the two cleared from my sight and were replaced by Edward's smiling face.

"Morning," I greeted with all the happiness I could feel inside me. My arms twitched as the extreme urge to hug him threatened to take over.

"Hi, sweetheart," he handed me the items in his arms. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's," I greeted back, accepting the flowers and the sheep. "Come inside. I already have coffee brewing and breakfast started."

He followed me to the living room where I set his gifts down. The moment I had them securely on the coffee table, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me.

"I'm really, really happy to see you," Edward murmured as he held me to his chest. I couldn't help but close my eyes and just enjoy his warmth.

_God, he smells fantastic, _I thought as I inhaled his delicious scent. That suddenly reminded me that I was still in my pajamas and that I've only washed my face and brushed my teeth since waking up.

Edward looked surprised when I suddenly pulled away from him. As much as I enjoyed being in his embrace, my un-showered self standing so close to him was making me feel self-conscious.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I…uh…" I tugged at my hair and looked down at my pajamas. They weren't anything embarrassing, at least – just some plaid sleep pants and an old grey T-shirt.

"You look beautiful," he reassured me when he realized what my problem was. "Can I go back to hugging my girlfriend now?"

I laughed and went back to his open arms. "Girlfriend, huh?"

"You said yes, didn't you?" he murmured against my temple. I felt his nose run the length of my hairline, and though I was still wary about my current hygienic state, he didn't seem bothered at all, so I allowed myself to relax.

After some time, Edward leaned back slightly and looked into my eyes. I couldn't help but stare back; his sparkling green eyes were hypnotizing.

"You ready to eat?" I asked but not before clearing my throat. "I still need to fry the bacon and the eggs, but – "

And then he kissed me.

I've read a lot of descriptions of how first kisses go (yes, I read a lot of young adult romance novels), but experiencing it firsthand left me speechless. The feel of Edward's lips against mine…his scent…my intense attraction to him…it was overwhelming and amazing.

I'd say that fireworks went off as well, but that would sound just a little too cheesy.

"Wow," I exhaled when we separated for air. "That – that was…"

"Fantastic? Life-changing? Incredible? Marvelous?" Edward provided in between kisses to my jaw.

"Yeah, sure, Mr. Thesaurus, let's go with those."

He chuckled and pressed his lips once more to my forehead.

"Let's go eat," he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led the way to the kitchen.

We chatted a bit while I finished breakfast, and he hugged me again once we had everything spread out on the table. "This looks delicious, Bella. Thank you."

"You're welcome," I poured us some coffee. "Dig in."

"This feels a lot like our first date," he observed as he helped himself to the eggs. "But I have to say, this is a lot better."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I can touch and kiss you freely now, for one," he pointed out. "And you're officially mine."

Cue the exploding ovaries.

"That's true," I blushed slightly. I was about to remark that he brought me flowers again, too, but then I remembered that I left said flowers in the living room. "Oh, I forgot to put the bouquet in some water. I'll be right back."

I hurriedly retrieved the beautiful bundle and returned to the kitchen.

"Do you like them?" Edward asked.

"Of course. They're beautiful."

"And the stuffed lamb?"

"It's cute," I laughed because the green ball of fluff really was. "What made you get that?"

"Advanced happy Chinese New Year," Edward grinned. "2015's year of the wooden green sheep…or ram…it isn't really clear since it just says 'horned animal', but I decided to get you a lamb since I thought it fit you more. Plus, I'm not ashamed to admit that it's freakin' adorable."

"Can't argue with that," I finished the vase of flowers and returned to him.

…

Edward was right when he said this was reminiscent of our first date. We sat in the living room again after finishing breakfast, but this time, I was tucked snugly to his side and our lips were fused together.

I've only kissed him about an hour ago, and already, I was addicted to his kisses.

Our foreheads rested against each other when we paused for air. "I'm really glad you posted that video," I breathed. "That must have taken a lot of courage."

"Well, I haven't exactly…posted it."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a private video," Edward sheepishly admitted. He pushed a lock of hair away from my face. "Only you and Alice can view it. I figured that if she found it first, she would show it to you."

"She did," I nodded. "Were you afraid I would turn you down?"

"I knew there was a possibility," he shrugged.

"How could I ever say no to you?" I asked rhetorically and seriously. Who would be crazy enough to deny Edward Cullen's offer to make you his girlfriend? "Like I said last night, I really do like you, Edward."

"Guess I should've known that," he smiled. "I can make the video public now if you want."

"I don't mind," I briefly thought of how Edward's shipper fandom would react to it. "Do you think I should make my own to answer you? I mean, it would just be…really awkward if you put up a video asking me out, and I won't respond in some way."

"We can just do a video together," he suggested. "That would be easier."

"You're really ready to announce to the world that we're dating?"

"I'd shout it off the rooftops if I could," he leaned in to capture my lips with his.

Needless to say, we didn't get to work on that video for a while.


	8. Chapter 8

**Still Alice** (a)deutscheakice

*squeal* new otp! (a)ForksintheKitchen x (a)CULLEngage **#bedward**. alles gute zum valentin's tag!

* * *

**_wrathbone_** (a)rosierathbone

"(a)CULLEngage **#bedward** youtube/w=?vIF…" ATTENTION CULLENRY! we have a queen. new fics anyone? *evil smirk*

* * *

**Coco **(a)prolificNovice

duuuuuuude. (a)ForksintheKitchen has set the new #girlfriendstandards RT: (a)CULLEngage **#bedward** youtube/w=?vIF…

* * *

**KEEP CALM** (a)owlsarebirdstoo

perfect way to spend valentine's day: repeating (a)CULLEngage 's new video 69725498 times **#bedward **#relationshipgoals

* * *

**Fanfic Worm** (a)lovebites

.(a)rosierathbone YES. RT: (a)CULLEngage **#bedward** youtube/w=?vIF…

* * *

**Xshadow-hunterX **(a)elicitshadowhunter

IS ANYONE ELSE FEELING JELLY? – (a)CULLEngage **#bedward** youtube/w=?vIF…

* * *

"Hey," my Twitter perusal was interrupted by Edward entering the room. He dumped the box he was carrying at the foot of the bed before launching himself next to me. "Sorry I took so long. There was a mix-up with the packages, so it took a while before I got the right one."

I placed his laptop at my side before snuggling into his arms. "It's okay. I was thoroughly entertained while you were gone."

"Oh? What've you been up to?"

"You know, just reading through your browser history," I told him nonchalantly. I laughed when I felt his body freeze.

"You're funny," he squeezed my waist before reaching for the device. "Going through Twitter again?"

"Yeah," I said as I rested my head on his shoulder so we could see the screen together. "I got curious. Did you know 'bedward''s trending again?"

"I figured it would be," Edward replied. "Well, these are mostly positive…save for a couple weirdos, but that's expected knowing the Internet."

"That's for sure," I nodded. "What's in the package, by the way?"

"Oh, yeah," he nudged me slightly, signaling that he wanted me to move away for a second. "I actually wasn't expecting them for at least another week, but they're here," he pulled the box closer to us and opened the top. "Go on, take a look."

I reached inside and encountered a folded piece of fabric. "Shirts?" I asked. "Oh, the new ones you were telling me about." With his popularity and general success, Edward had his own line of merchandise available online. He told me before that he had new T-shirt designs slated to be released early in the year.

"Yep," he held one up for inspection. "I know I'm not as good as you are when it comes to art, but I'd say they came out pretty well. What do you think?"

"They look awesome," I told him honestly and smiled. While not over the top, the designs were still graphic and made a bold statement. "I mean, I'd wear it. Can I get one for free?" I asked jokingly.

Edward laughed. "I'm sure I can sneak you a shirt or two, but I think I have a better idea."

"What is it?"

"Hold on," he got up from the bed and proceeded to rummage through his closet. When he returned to me, he had about four pieces of clothing in his arms. "I think I'd like to see you in these."

Curious, I spread them on the bedspread to discover that they were baseball tees. "Saint Louis Prep Badgers," I read the front. "Is this from your high school?"

"Yeah. I think the baseball team was the only part I liked about private school," Edward made a face. "Well, that and the tech club. I think I probably would've enjoyed public school more, though. We had to wear _uniforms, _for fuck's sake!"

"They couldn't have been that bad. And your school colors look pretty – black looks good with this shade of yellow."

"Well, yeah, but you try having to wear a polo, tie, vest, and robe every single day even when it was hot out."

"At least you didn't have to think of what to wear anymore." I offered.

"There's that, I guess," he chuckled. "But I was still ridiculously happy when graduation day came."

"So what's so special about these that you want –" I cut myself off when I turned one tee around and saw the giant letters spelling 'CULLEN' sprawled across the back.

"What?" Edward blinked innocently when I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's perfectly normal for girlfriends to wear their boyfriends' clothes. I'm pretty sure there are tumblr blogs dedicated to crap like that. You know the ones that have random pictures of couples kissing and text like 'when you wear his shirt and you smell his cologne' or some shit slapped on top?"

I burst out laughing. "'When she wears your shirt and you mark your territory' is more appropriate for you, wouldn't you say?"

"You got me," his grin was unrepentant.

"Because announcing our relationship through a video that can be viewed worldwide using a channel that has thirty-five million subscribers isn't enough, huh?"

Edward shrugged unapologetically. "I don't want to take any chances," he pulled me closer to him. "Everyone needs to know you're mine."

I couldn't argue with that. I wanted everyone to know I was his, too.

…

I woke up with a start, feeling disoriented as the dark room I was in registered. After a few seconds of just sitting on the bed, I finally remembered where I was and who I was with.

Edward and I must've fallen asleep sometime in the middle of watching a random Discovery Channel documentary we found.

Stretching and yawning, I felt my way across the bedside table until I encountered the lamp switch. The sudden bright light blinded me for a moment, but once my eyes adjusted, I finally saw the familiar details of Edward's room and Edward himself as he slept beside me.

_God, he is so handsome, _I sighed internally as I stared at his resting from. Sure, I've noticed how attractive he was before we even met, but there was something about seeing him like this that made him look profoundly more beautiful. Thinking about that and how smart and nice he was made me wonder what I did to deserve him. And what he ever saw in me.

"Stop it," I whispered to myself. I knew the path my thoughts were taking me all too well, and the last thing I needed was to revisit all my insecurities.

Thankfully, I was distracted by the distant sound of my phone vibrating. I crawled to my backpack and wrestled the thing out.

"Hello?"

"_Baby!_"

"Mom?" I answered in confusion. Well, I wasn't exactly confused as to why my mother was calling, but she and Dad usually didn't contact me unless something was urgent.

"_What's wrong? Is this a bad time?_" Mom fretted.

"Er, no, not at all."

"_Sooo? Are you going to leave me hanging? What's been going on? Is everything hashtag awesome?_"

I resisted the urge to facepalm. Every time she tried to sound or act 'hip' or 'in', I just wanted to cringe. The woman was almost forty-six, for cripe's sake, and who ever said the word 'hashtag' in real life conversation? Well, I guess it's acceptable if you use it ironically, but I was pretty sure Mom was serious.

"Everything's okay," I told her quietly. "I mean, classes don't resume until Wednesday, so I'm getting some down time."

"_That's good_," she said. "_And Alice? How is she?"_

"She's doing well, too. She has a new boyfriend now."

"_Oh, yes, I think I saw that on her Facebook a few days ago. What is that boy's name…Jackson? Jason?"_

"Jasper, actually. And he's a pretty cool guy. He and Alice seem like a good match."

"_What about Edward? How's he doing?"_

"Edward's f – " I stuttered to a halt. "Wait, what are you – uh…Edward?"

"_You know, Edward," _Mom's tone indicated that who she was talking about should've been obvious to me. _"Your boyfriend? Goodness, Bella, is your memory okay?"_

"Wha – how do you know…?"

"_Oh, honey. Through the Internet, of course!"_ she chuckled. "_He's quite a looker, isn't he? I have to say, though, as handsome as he is, I can't sit through the scary games he plays. That didn't stop me from subscribing – "_

"Wait, wait," I interrupted her. "You…subscribed to him?" Since when did Mom get a YouTube account? Hell, since when did she start using YouTube? As far as I knew, she only used the Internet to look up Hollywood gossip or add more things to her Pinterest board.

Yes, my mother made a Pinterest account. We can all blame her knitting circle friends for getting her into _that_ trend.

"_Of course I did," _she sounded appalled. "_It's only common courtesy, Bella. I subscribed to you, too, and Alice, and these cute British boys I think Edward is friends with. Why do you sound so surprised?"_

"I just…I didn't think you ever visited that site," I said honestly.

"_Well…no, I didn't before, but after Jacob told me that you and a boy named Edward were dating, I decided to get in on the action. The video was very cute, by the way. I totally ship hashtag 'bedward'."_

Oh dear God, dear Lord, help me please.

"I…thanks, Mom," I replied, not knowing what else to say. "I was going to tell you that I have a boyfriend, but I guess I just never got the chance. We only became, er, official yesterday."

"_It's okay, honey. I'm not mad. I know how first loves can sweep you away and make you forget about everything else," _she sighed wistfully.

As she continued to speak, Edward chose that moment to wake up. He sat up on the bed with a groan and smiled when he noticed me looking at him. His expression quickly turned concerned when he saw my slightly panic-stricken expression.

"Bella?" he asked warily. "You okay?"

"I'm alright," I answered in a pitch higher than normal.

"_What? Honey, what's going on?" _Mom's voice registered in my mind again. _"Is he there?"_

"He is," I gave up trying to come up with a lie. I was horrible at making excuses, anyway. "It's my mom," I told Edward as I pointed uselessly to my phone.

"Oh," he nodded in understanding at the same time Mom said _"Really? I didn't interrupt…anything, did I?"_

"No, you didn't. It's all fine."

"_Can I speak to him?" _she requested eagerly. _"I promise I won't embarrass you, baby. I just really want to meet him in some way."_

_Well, better to get it over with now than later, _I thought as I agreed and handed Edward my phone. He looked at my questioningly, but took it anyway.

"Hello? Hi, Mrs. Swan," he greeted jovially like phone calls like this happened all the time. "Renee, then. I'm doing well, thank you."

I watched his face to gauge how the conversation was going. Everything seemed to be going well so far, thankfully, as he was still smiling.

"Yes."

"Really? I'll be sure to check, then."

"You're too kind, ma'am. I'm glad you're enjoying my videos."

The next pause took a little longer than usual and I saw Edward's expression change. "No, it's no problem at all. I would love to speak to Mr. Swan," he turned to me with alarm in his eyes.

"Let me," I hurriedly sat next to him. "I'll talk to him first – "

"Good evening, Mr. Swan."

_Well, fuck._

"Oh, it's _Chief _Swan. Sorry," he squeezed my hand, but I had a feeling it was more to reassure himself than me. "Yes sir, I'm Bella's boyfriend."

"No, sir. I'm studying Computer Science at Cornell. I'm currently finishing my senior year."

There was another long pause. "Your daughter is amazing, sir, and I know I'm lucky that she wants to be with me, too. I promise I'll always respect her and care for her." He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around me.

"Yes, sir."

"I won't forget."

He handed me back the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

"What did he say to you?" I asked as I tried to assess what he was feeling. His expression gave nothing away.

"Go speak to your father first," he urged with a small smile on his lips.

"Hey, Dad," I greeted once I had the phone at my ear.

"Bella," he responded gruffly. "How're you, kid?"

"I'm alright," I said. "I'm not so sure about Edward, though. Dad, what did you do?"

"We just had a chat, that's all. It's a perfectly normal thing for a father to do when his daughter starts dating some boy she met from the Internet without telling said father first so he can do a background check."

"But Edward's not dangerous. There's no need for you to worry."

"You can never be too sure these days, Bella. And you've never even talked about boys before, let alone have a boyfriend. Of course I'm going to worry."

"Thanks for the concern, Dad, but Edward…" I peeked from the corner of my eye to see Edward watching me. "He's really kind. And sweet. And he always treats me well."

"Yeah, I got that impression when I spoke to him," I could imagine my father rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Alright, look. Your mother and Alice seem to like him and I trust your judgment when it comes to people, so I'm not going to ask you to stop seeing him. I expect you to bring him over sometime so I can meet him properly, though."

"Okay, Dad."

"And you can bet that I'm going to be monitoring his social media accounts."

"I'll let him know."

"Good," he coughed. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. Take care of yourself, alright? And don't hesitate to call if anything happens."

"I won't," I promised. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Night, Bells."

I ended the call and turned my attention back to Edward. "I am so sorry," I apologized. "If I knew my dad was going to – "

"It's okay," he kissed my temple. "He has the right to make me squirm. I know my dad scared Rosalie's and Lauren's boyfriends whenever they came around."

"I guess it's pretty customary, especially with my dad being a cop and all," I agreed with a smile. "I hope he didn't intimidate you too much, though. I don't want you running to the hills."

"You never have to worry about that," Edward laughed.

We were quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "I'm really going to have to watch what I do online now. Did you know your mother made a YouTube _and _Twitter account just to follow us? Plus, she sent me a friend request on Facebook, apparently."

I couldn't help but groan mentally. With my fangirl mother and chief of police father, bringing Edward to Forks someday is going to be a very interesting experience.


	9. Chapter 9

I glanced at my watch for the nth time before looking around my surroundings. Before going our separate ways about an hour ago, Edward and I had agreed on meeting at the fountain in the middle of the mall at five-thirty so we could grab a bite to eat.

It was already ten minutes past six, but he was still nowhere to be seen. He hadn't answered my text, either.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type of girlfriend who nags and jumps at a dude's throat just because he isn't punctual, but I was getting a little worried. I mean, how long does it take to buy a new video card? Not this long surely.

_Ten minutes more, _I decided. _I'll give him ten minutes more._

But ten minutes came and went, and I was still alone and hungry on the bench I was sitting on.

"Fine," I gathered my bags and stood. "If he won't come here, I'll just look for him myself."

Cyberzone – the techy-side of the mall – was located at the top floor, so I was grateful for the existence of escalators. The area was quite large, though, making looking for Edward a bit more difficult.

I eventually did spot my bronze-haired boyfriend, but not before having to peek into about six shops. He was standing in a store that sold video games.

"That figures," I chuckled quietly to myself and shook my head. Leave it to Edward to get sidetracked by video games.

I heard the shop assistant Edward was speaking to as I entered. "The Gammas are cool with anyone coming, and it'll be a lot of fun. My friend said they even got this hot new band to play."

I decided to make my presence known then. "Hey," I smiled. "There you are."

"Bella?" Edward whirled around. "What're you doing here? Wasn't I supposed to meet you by the fountain?"

"Well, after nearly half an hour of sitting there and doing nothing, I figured I better start looking for you," I replied dryly.

He looked at me strangely for a second before glancing at his watch. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I lost track of time."

"I can see that."

"Ahem," the shop assistant not-so-subtly cleared her throat. "So, what do you say, Edward? Will you go? I know I'd _really _love to see you again."

I raised an eyebrow at the girl. Did she _not _hear Edward call me 'sweetheart'? Maybe I need to be more obvious…

"He can't go," I stepped forward. I didn't what she was talking about, but after hearing the word 'Gammas' – a fraternity known for their wild parties – I could make a guess. "We have…_things_ to do tonight," I made sure she knew what those 'things' were by placing my hand on Edward's chest and kissing his neck.

_Whoa, where did that come from? _ That move was completely un-Bella, but hey, at least the shop assistant took the hint; she narrowed her eyes before looking me up and down.

"Edward can speak for himself," she told me pointedly.

"Actually, Amy, my girlfriend's right," Edward took the hand on his chest to give it a kiss. His free arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me close. "Our plans for tonight don't involve keggers or other people." He pressed his lips to the spot behind my ear. "And I believe I have some making up to do."

"I can think of a few ways you can do that," I pressed my body closer to his.

I couldn't stop the smirk that took over as Amy's face fell. She pouted and attempted the puppy-dog look Alice pulled sometimes.

_Oh for fuck's sake. _"Are you ready to go?" I asked Edward so we could just leave already; freakin' Amy was getting on my nerves.

"Yeah," he said, and with a final smile at the clearly dissatisfied store assistant, he led me out of the shop.

I was expecting some kind of dig at my show of jealousy, but surprisingly, Edward was silent. I watched his face as we walked, but he looked totally unaffected, like what happened earlier didn't.

Or at least that was what it seemed like until we reached his car.

I was just about to place my purchases in the backseat when Edward grabbed me by the waist and sandwiched me between his body and the vehicle. My bags fell to the floor as his lips molded themselves to mine.

"God, you're so sexy," he murmured. "Do you know how hot it is to see you so possessive?"

"She's lucky I didn't do anything violent," I laughed breathlessly. My fingers weaved themselves into the hair at the back of his head. "If everyone needs to know I'm yours, they need to know you're mine, too."

"I am," his thumbs stroked the skin exposed by my risen shirt, making me shiver. "Completely."

I captured his lips again and tilted my head to deepen the kiss.

The moment was ruined when a car's headlights suddenly blinded us. Edward regretfully stepped back, and I almost pulled a pout similar to Amy's earlier.

"We should, ah, probably get dinner," I murmured, looking down at my shoes. My cheeks were burning much like the rest of my body.

A gentle finger coaxed my face up. "We can continue later, sweetheart."

I planned on holding him to that.

…

The next couple of weeks went pretty smoothly by new couple standards. Sure, Edward and I bickered sometimes, but they were always over petty stuff and we would reconcile literally seconds later.

Our first fight didn't happen until the beginning of March.

It was just another normal Thursday. Edward and I were in his room with me on the bed, trying to memorize horrendous dates and hard-to-remember foreign names (why couldn't artists of the Renaissance period just be named Bob or something?) and him working some codes out on his computer.

Our study session went on without any snags, but then out of nowhere, Edward suddenly turned to me with a scowl.

"Will you stop doing that?"

"Huh?"

"You keep tapping," he pointed to the highlighter I've been unconsciously drumming against my book. "God, it's giving me a headache!"

"Sorry. Jeez," I held both hands up.

"Why do you have to do that?"

"I don't mean to; it's just a habit."

"Well, cut it out. It's driving menuts," he snapped. "How am I supposed to get anything done with that annoying noise playing in the background?"

"Calm down, man," my voice rose to the same level as his. "I'll stop, okay? But quit yelling at me."

"I'm not yelling!"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Edward?"

"I just want some peace and quiet so I can finish this," he tugged at his hair.

"Then why did you even bother inviting me over here if I'm such a nuisance?"

"If I'd known you were going to be like this, trust me, I wouldn't have."

My jaw dropped and my eyebrows shot up. What crawled up his ass all of a sudden?

Before I could say something that could make things worse, I took my book and apparently offensive highlighter with me and stormed out of his room. I narrowly resisted slamming the door behind me.

"Moody asshole," I muttered angrily to myself. "Shouldn't have made the effort to leave the house."

I continued to fume in the hallway for a while, but soon, the irritation was replaced by awkwardness. Where was I supposed to go now? I left my bag and my shoes in Edward's room, and there was no way I was going in there any time soon lest his royal highness be annoyed by the sound of my breathing or something.

The living room was my intended destination until Emmett's soft voice startled me.

"Hey," he called out. His head was poking out of a doorway that I assumed led to his bedroom. "Sorry, I heard shouting. You okay?"

"I'm fine," I sighed. "Edward's just being…" I waved my hand.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Emmett grimaced. He opened his door wider. "You wanna come hang out with me for a while? I promise I'm not as uptight as Captain Grumpy Pants."

Emmett and I weren't that close, but his big kid smile and aura of easiness was making me feel better already. "Sure, that sounds nice. Thank you."

"No problemo, amigo," he stepped back to allow me to enter.

Emmett's room was a lot like the typical college spaces they show on TV. There was a mound of laundry in one corner, and in another was a desk piled high with books and random knick-knacks. Despite the disarray, though, it looked homey and well-lived-in.

"Have a seat…anywhere," he said as he settled on his desk chair. "Hope you don't mind the mess; cleaning's not exactly my favorite hobby."

"Eh, it's cool," I occupied the foot of the bed.

"So if you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"You know what, I don't even know. One minute, everything's fine, and in the next, he's yelling at me for drumming my pen."

"Maybe he's on his period," Emmett suggested.

"Could be," I chuckled.

"In all seriousness, I think he's just stressed," he leaned back. "Edward's not normally a prick, but when he has something difficult to do in a short amount of time, like a paper or a program, he gets all pissy. Especially when he can't stay focused. I suggest you just keep yourself out of his way when that happens."

"But he called me over to study together," I grumbled. "Why would he do that if he was going to transform into Moody McGee?"

"Dunno. Maybe he thought having you around would help in concentrate. Though knowing how smitten he is with you, I don't see the logic in that."

Emmett shrugged. "Anyway, at least now you know Edward's bad side. When you guys buy a house in the future, make sure your office is far, _far _away from his so you can avoid little tiffs like this. Though make-up sex _is _pretty hot."

"I'm guessing you and Rosalie have fights often, then?" I asked jokingly.

"Oh yeah," he nodded and didn't bother denying. "She and Edward don't look anything alike, but they're on equal footing when it comes to temper. Rosie's quicker to get mad, but her anger disappears just as fast. Edward, on the other hand, can put up with shit, but when he blows up, he blows up," he mimicked an explosion with his hands. "The outburst he just had is a spark compared to what happens when he's _really_ angry."

Well, Edward isn't perfect, I suppose. It's just difficult to remember that when all he's been to me is sweet. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Emmett must have misinterpreted my reaction as he quickly backtracked. "Don't get me wrong, Ed's a genuinely nice guy, and he really likes you. Like, _seriously _likes you. I've been friends with him since we were kids, and I've never seen him so entranced by a girl before."

"Don't worry, Emmett, I'm not going to leave him," I smiled. "You didn't sully his reputation or whatever."

"Oh, okay. Good," he laughed nervously. "Edward might kill me if I make you hate him."

"I don't think I can hate him," I sighed. "He's still being an asshole, though."

"Can't argue with that," Emmett grinned. He stood up and opened a mini fridge I didn't notice was hidden beneath his bedside table. "You want a Coke while you work on your…whatever that is? Or are you more of a Pepsi kind of girl."

"Coke, please. And it's just some Art History notes."

"Art History," he scoffed as he handed me a can. "You know, I can never understand why we have to study history. The way is to look is forward, dude. Technology, computers…now _that's _the future."

"Spoken like a true ComSci major."

"Damn straight."

…

Though I tried getting back to reading my book, I ended up simply leaving it closed. I couldn't concentrate well enough to study anymore because my brain was doing what it did best: overthinking the fuck out of the situation.

_When is Edward going to come looking for me? _Is_ he even looking for me? What am I supposed to say to him? Should I apologize? _

Needless to say, I was no longer productive, so I decided to distract myself by chatting with Emmett.

Despite the interesting characters I grew up with in Forks and having Alice for a cousin, I've never met anyone quite like Emmett. Edward was right when he said he was one of a kind – the man can lighten any serious situation and fit more innuendos in one sentence than I can ever do in a whole paragraph.

He was a goofball through and through, but I could tell he was a passionate dude especially when it came to his two favorite topics: video games and Rosalie.

"How did you two meet?" I asked curiously. "Did Edward introduce you?"

"Actually, it's the other way around," Emmett laughed. "I was five and Rose was seven when I first met her in the neighborhood playground. Of course, I couldn't let a girl as pretty as her get away so I followed her around for weeks. She turned me down every time. Eventually, she got tired of putting up with me and introduced me to Edward so I'd get leave her alone. Obviously that didn't work, but Ed and I did become close friends."

"Oh," I nodded. "So when did you get together?"

"High school," he answered. "There were a bunch of guys that wouldn't leave her alone no matter what she did, but after a visit from me, they never looked her way again. Hah, I wonder how those punks would've reacted if they knew I was just a freshman then…anyway, from then on, Rose and I became inseparable."

The door suddenly opening interrupted whatever Emmett was about to say next.

"Em," a breathless Edward burst in. "Have you seen –?"

"Bella? She's right here dude," Emmett jutted his thumb at me from where he sat.

"Thank God," Edward swiftly pulled me up and enveloped me in a warm embrace. "I thought you left. I'm so sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

I didn't say anything and simply nodded against his shoulder.

"I just get…frustrated sometimes when I can't solve a problem."

"I already explained your shitty temper to her," Emmett called out.

Edward cradled my face in his hands, looking into my eyes. "Will you forgive me?"

"Yeah," I smiled tentatively. "But you can't take your irritation out on me, especially when you were the one who insisted I come over in the first place. If you want me to stop disturbing you or whatnot, you can just ask."

"I won't anymore," he said sincerely, pecking my lips. "And I promise, I'll be calmer."

"How cute," Emmett cooed from the background.

"Shut up, Em," Edward glared at him over his shoulder.

"Hey, you're in my room. If I wanna make commentary, I'm gonna," he retorted. "By the way, Rosalie called earlier."

"What did she say?"

"Her flight's booked. She'll be here this weekend! This is so awesome – you'll finally get to meet her, Bella."

I couldn't stop the flash of nervousness that ran through my body. While I wanted to meet Edward's family and the way Emmett spoke of Rosalie was always fond, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to act around Edward's tall, intimidatingly beautiful older sister.

"Sounds great," I smiled slightly. Guess I'll just have to work that out in my head later.

**Want to see a screenshot of CULLEngage's MY GIRLFRIEND video?**

** i. imgur /TouKnuu .jpg ****or just click the link in my profile.**

**Thanks again to AstridGreenEyes whom I endlessly pestered to help me make it.**


	10. Chapter 10

Alice lowered the camera and raised an eyebrow at me. "Bella, maybe we should take a little break from shooting."

"What?" I glanced at the vegetables I've chopped for the ratatouille. "But I already have everything ready."

"I know, but it's just…" she looked around as she tried to come up with the right words. "You're not really…yourself."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bellsie, you're talking a mile a minute and can barely stay still. I'm surprised the veggies aren't shaped too badly."

I sighed. "Okay, you're right. I just have some stuff I'm thinking about, that's all."

"What kind? Is this about Edward?"

"Er, somewhat."

"Did you guys break-up?!" Alice shrieked and I rolled my eyes. For such a bubbly girl, she certainly loves to go to the negative right away.

"We didn't, but I'm…I'm a little anxious," I admitted. "He wants me to meet his sister tomorrow. Rosalie's flying in to visit after travelling around and doing charity stuff with the other beauty queens."

"Oh," she nodded in understanding, but then her expression changed to confusion. "Wait, I don't get it. Why're you nervous about that?"

"Well, what if she doesn't like me?" I asked. "I mean, Edward is really close to his siblings and he values their opinion a lot. So if Rosalie doesn't approve of me…"

"Bella, Bella, Bella," Alice shook her head. She came around the kitchen island to rub my shoulders. "Of course she'll like you. Edward did ask you out for a reason, you know, and that's 'cause you're amazing. Just go have fun! You're having lunch with Rosalie Cullen, for eff's sake. I'd tag along if I could."

"Maybe I can ask Edward," I said optimistically, but then my mind came up with horrible scenarios involving Alice revealing my more embarrassing childhood escapades. "On second thought, I think I'll be okay with my own."

"Alrighty," she shrugged. "I have a date tomorrow anyway, right, Jazz?"

"Making a video with you's considered a date?" Jasper asked from the living room. "You haven't even told me what we're going to do."

"I've already told you, like, a bajillion times!" Alice replied. "I'm going to be do your make-up."

Silence followed, and before long, Jasper showed up at the entrance of the kitchen. "'S'cuse me?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Men," Alice muttered. "Really don't pay attention, do they. I asked you last week if you were okay with us doing the 'I do my boyfriend's make-up' tag since Tanya and Carmen tagged me, and you said you were."

"Last week? I don't remember any of that," Jasper started to look nervous. "Why on earth would you want to do my make-up, anyway?"

"Oh, come on, it's all for fun. And entertainment. Don't tell me you aren't secure enough in your masculinity."

"I am, but it just seems…weird."

"_Jazz_," Alice pouted and flitted to his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "I promise I won't make you look like a hooker or something – I'm planning on creating a very simple and elegant look for you. I even found a wig that exactly matches your hair color! Trust me, you'll look gorgeous."

When Jasper still looked uncertain, Alice rolled her eyes.

"We'll do the 'my boyfriend does my make-up' tag afterwards so you can have your revenge. You can even do it blindfolded if you want."

A grin slowly took over Jasper's face as he considered that. "Deal."

"You _would _make a very pretty girl," I threw in my two cents.

"Yes, he would," Alice pinched his cheek. "So what do you think of the name Jasmine?"

…

_We're one mistake for being together_

_But let's not ask why it's not right_

_You won't be seventeen forever_

_And we can get away with this tonight_

I didn't hear the rest of the song as Edward lowered the stereo's volume.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he looked briefly at me before his eyes returned to the road.

"I'm fine," I gave a small smile. "What makes you think I'm not?"

"Well, you've been awfully quiet, for one," he pointed out. "And if there's one thing I've learned from playing horror games, it's that silence is scarier."

"I'm nervous," I told him quietly.

"What, because of Rosalie? It'll be alright, sweetheart. I know for a fact that she'll love you. Probably even more than she does me."

"But not more than me," Emmett stuck his head between the driver's and passenger's seats. "Why'd you turn the music down, bro? My jam's playing!"

I increased the volume and laughed when I heard what was playing.

"_Rolling in the Deep_?That's your jam?"

"Laugh it up, Swan, but you're going to be eating your words when you hear me sing."

I didn't, but Emmett's blaring voice filling up the tiny space in Edward's car was a welcome distraction. He managed to keep my nerves at bay as we made our way to the airport, even though he got most of the lyrics wrong.

_Thursday, Friday starting in my heart. _Yeah, I'll never un-hear those words when that song plays again.

We reached our destination about five minutes before Rosalie's flight was scheduled to land. Emmett led the way once we had parked, his smile wide and enthusiasm palpable.

I gripped Edward's hand tightly as we followed him through the crowd, and soon, we were standing at the Arrivals section.

"Do you think we should've made a sign?" Emmett asked as he eyed the couple who stood next to us. They were carrying a huge illustration board with bold lettering drawn on it.

"I doubt Rose would miss you, Em," Edward told him. "And if ever she doesn't see you, she'll definitely hear –"

"ROSE!" Emmett bellowed loudly before taking off.

Edward chuckled. "Well, at least he's found her," he turned to me. "You ready?"

"Yeah," I smiled as convincingly as I could. He smiled back and pulled me until we saw Emmett's hulking form again. He had his arms wrapped around a girl I figured had to be Rosalie.

The closer we got to them, the looser Edward's hold got, and when we were only a few feet away, he let go completely and took off running.

I stood where I was as Edward hugged his sister, not knowing what I was supposed to do exactly. It seemed awkward to just interrupt their family reunion, but it felt awkward to just be standing where I was, too.

Thankfully, Emmett solved my dilemma when he pushed me forward. "What're you doing just standing here, Bella?"

"I didn't want to disturb –"

"Nonsense. Now come along, my child. Rosie's really excited to meet you,"

"My child," I muttered with furrowed eyebrows until we were beside Rosalie and Edward. My nerves returned then, and I was reduced to silence.

She was just so…gorgeous. Overwhelming, leaves-you-speechless, kind of gorgeous. I mean, I already knew that from seeing her on TV, but to be able to confirm it by actually meeting her in person was just…wow. I felt like a peasant standing next to her.

_What a gene pool the Cullens have._

"Bella," Edward snapped me out of my thoughts when he wrapped an arm around my waist. "This is my sister, Rosalie. Rose, this is Bella. My girlfriend."

"Hi," Rosalie smiled at me. "It's nice to finally meet the girl who's caught this lughead's heart," she ruffled Edward's hair.

"Thank you," I responded until I realized how stupid and unrelated that answer was. "I mean, uh, it's nice to meet you, too."

Her smile widened, and I noticed metal covering her lower teeth.

_Huh, who knew Miss America needed braces?_

"Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, let's go eat," Emmett grinned. "I'm starving."

"You always are," Rosalie rolled her eyes playfully. "But we can't go yet. Mom and Dad are still sorting stuff out with – "

"Wait, Mom and Dad are here?" Edward asked.

"And Lauren. They wanted to surprise you guys, though I think that's kinda ruined now what with Lauren's passport having some issues. They'll probably be here in a minute."

"Oh," Edward blinked. He squeezed me in reassurance and kissed my temple, but my heart was still beating frantically out of panic.

I barely got through meeting Rosalie without any problems. How was I supposed to do that with the rest of the Cullens on such short notice?

…

"So, Bella," Mrs. Cullen, or Esme as she insisted I call her, turned to me. We were having lunch at a restaurant near the airport after more awkward introductions (on my part, anyway). "Do you have a YouTube channel as well?"

"Yeah," I said. "It's how Edward and I met, really."

"It was?" Rosalie leaned forward. "How'd that happen? I don't think Emmett or Edward ever told me this story."

"Oh. Well, uh, Edward left a comment in one of my videos about a month ago, and that's how we started talking."

"Hey, you're forgetting my involvement in your love story," Emmett interjected. "I was the one who showed Edward the video in the first place, so if it weren't for me, you guys wouldn't even be together."

"Yes, yes, Em. We're well aware of how you played match maker," Edward replied dryly as Rose kissed Emmett's cheek.

"What video was it?" Carlisle, Edward's dad, asked.

"It was my recipe for barbeque ribs. I run a small cooking channel."

"You cook?" Esme looked pleasantly surprised. "That's wonderful! Lord knows I've tried my best to get these children interested in the kitchen."

"I'm interested," Edward said. "Though that interest's more on eating the food rather than making it."

"Amen to that," Emmett raised his glass of beer.

"Well, I did _try _to learn," Rosalie chuckled. "But cooking and I just aren't meant to be! Don't you guys remember how I almost set the house on fire when I was nine?"

"My biggest regret to this day is buying you that Easy Bake Oven," Carlisle shook his head.

The discussion continued being lively as everyone shared their stories of kitchen failure. Emmett admitted he tried microwaving a tin of Campbell's once, and Edward said he broke more than two utensils trying to scrape burnt meat off the pan.

The funny part was those incidents happened just mere months ago.

As much as the whole table seemed to be having fun, I noticed Edward's little sister Lauren being a little too quiet. Save for nodding when we were introduced, she hasn't really acknowledged me. Her arms have been crossed since we all piled into Edward's car earlier, and when she caught my looking at her, the glare she gave me was fierce.

_Did I do something wrong? _I wondered.

Putting it out of my mind for the moment, I rejoined the conversation until the food arrived.

"Laur, you gonna eat that?" Edward pointed to the steak that came with Lauren's shrimps.

"Your girlfriend has this on her plate. Go take hers," Lauren huffed.

"Impoliteness isn't necessary, Lauren," Esme scolded.

"Whatever."

"You can have mine, Edward," Rosalie pushed her plate. "I can't eat any more of it. My teeth are starting to hurt thanks to the braces."

"Do you want any of my fish and chips?" I offered. Now that I knew how down-to-earth and nice Rose was, I more comfortable interacting with her. "They're a lot softer."

"Thanks, Bella," Rosalie said gratefully. Lauren, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

_Okay, now I know she definitely has a problem. What did I ever do, though?_

That question was only answered an hour later when I was in the bathroom. While I was washing my hands, Rosalie made an appearance.

"Hey."

"Hi. Um, were you going to use the toilet?"

"Nah, I just wanted to talk," she leaned against the counter. "How're you finding the Cullen experience so far? I could tell you were a little nervous when we first met."

"It's been great," I told her honestly. "And…yeah, I was a little anxious meeting you."

"Is it the Miss America thing? Trust me, it's just a title," Rose said. "And I'm going to pass my crown soon, anyway, so there's no need to feel intimidated. We're a very welcoming bunch."

"I can tell," I smiled. "Your family's really warm."

"Well, everyone except for Lauren, anyway."

"Did I…do something? I mean, she hasn't exactly been…"

"Nice? Yeah, don't worry, it's nothing about you personally," Rosalie said. She twirled a long piece of blonde hair. "Did Edward ever tell you that Lauren was adopted?"

"No," I blinked in surprise. "He never mentioned it."

"It's easy to forget sometimes, but yeah, she was. Mom couldn't have more kids after Edward even though she and Dad really wanted more, so they decided to adopt. Lauren was six when they brought her home, and the life she had before wasn't really the best."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Well, anyway. The point I'm trying to make here is that because of her past, Lauren gets a little… annoyed when the spotlight's not on her. Her behaviour isn't a result of anything you've done."

"I understand."

"Great," Rosalie squeezed my arm. "Just thought I'd explain that. None of us want to drive you away because honestly, you're doing Edward a lot of good. I've never seen him so happy."

Why did everyone think I'd leave Edward so easily? "Don't worry. It's going to take a lot more than that to make me run away."

We returned to the table not long after that to hear Esme recall the last Cullen family reunion. Judging by everyone's faces, it must've been an interesting party.

"…I opened the closet door to see your cousin Oliver having a _grand_ time with one of the waiters," Esme made a face. "I think Nana Cullen banned him from her house."

"I wish I could've seen that," Edward sighed, but his face lit up when he saw me. I took my seat next to him and he pulled me close again. "Wait, wasn't Nana annoyed that I didn't come?"

"Oh, she understands that you're busy. She expects you to see her as soon as possible, though."

"Maybe Bella can come with you the next time you head to Chicago," Carlisle suggested. "I know your grandmother would like to meet her."

"Spring break's coming up," Edward mused. "Maybe we can go then. What do you think, Bella?"

"I would love to, but I already promised my folks I would visit."

"Oh," Edward sounded just as disappointed as I did. "Well, maybe we can spend a few days in Chicago, then a couple of days in Forks."

"Forks? That's where you're from?" Lauren spoke directly to me for the very first time. "What kind of a town is named after cutlery?"

"A really tiny one," Edward said.

"Are you seriously ready to meet my parents?" my tone was joking, but I was dead serious. Sure, that fateful phone call happened weeks ago, but did he forget my crazy mother and over-protective father?

"I am," he said confidently. "How bad can it be?"

Well, in two weeks or so, he was going to find out.

**Edit: Thanks to Ninkita for pointing out some errors :)**

**The songs playing in the radio are _Seventeen Forever _by Metro Station - a song that reminds me too much of Twilight sometimes - and _Rolling in the Deep _by Adele.**


	11. Chapter 11

_Over four and a half million years ago, Pharaoh Khufu ordered the construction of the great Pyramid._

_What he buried beneath it, however, is every bit as impressive._

"_The Khufu ship is one of the most extraordinary artefacts in the world. It's thirteen stories tall if you stand it on – "_

I was startled when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. The mattress sunk as I heard a warm voice in my ear.

"What are you watching?" Edward asked quietly. "Another documentary?"

"About the ten greatest discoveries in Egypt," I confirmed as I closed my eyes and relaxed against him; I loved it when he wrapped me in his warmth this way.

He pushed my hair aside and spoke against my skin. "I don't know why keep watching films like that. We fell asleep the last time you convinced me to try one."

"But this one's interesting," my voice turned breathy towards the end when I felt Edward place a long, sensual kiss on my neck. I tilted my head slightly to allow more kisses to be planted from my jaw to my shoulder.

"Mm," he hummed. "I think I know something you'll find more fascinating."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Take a guess."

"Music?"

"Try again," I felt Edward's tongue briefly touch my skin. That made me shiver.

"Video games?" my hand reached up to tangle in his hair. He growled when my nails lightly scratched his scalp.

"No."

"I give up," I sighed, feeling hot all over.

"I'll give you another hint," suddenly, I lifted and repositioned so that I was sitting on Edward's thighs with my legs either side of him.

_Damn, he's strong, _I marvelled as my hands rested on his chest for balance.

"Figure it out yet?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him like my life depended on it.

Whimpers and moans filled the room as Edward and I made out. His hands went from my back to my waist and finally to my butt – that was something I just recently discovered, actually: my boyfriend was an ass man.

"Bella," Edward grunted hoarsely. "God, you feel so good, sweetheart."

"Edward," I whispered his name back before attacking his neck. The sounds that escaped his throat made my body temperature rise even more.

Unconsciously, I had pressed myself so close to him that when I moved slightly, I could feel every glorious inch of him. His hard abs, his strong chest…

…and his prominent erection.

We both mewled at the same time when I came in contact with it again…and again. Though our clothes remained on, the pleasure was still there and continued to grow until powerful hands gripped my waist and stopped my movements.

"What's wrong?" I panted.

"We need to…slow down," Edward replied, equally as breathless. His thumbs stroke the small of my back as he rearranged us so that I was lying by his side rather than on top of him.

"Why?" I whispered. I could feel insecurity crawling up my spine. "Didn't you…like it?"

"Oh, sweetheart," he stroked my cheek before kissing me briefly. "It isn't like that at all. In case you couldn't tell, I was enjoying myself. A lot." He grinned salaciously and I giggled a little. "I just…I don't want to rush."

Edward and I already had the conversation where my status of being a virgin was cleared up, and his status as…not a virgin was as well. The discussion was a little awkward, but I was glad he knew he'd be my first (eventually). He became more cautious with me after that, stopping our make-out sessions before they went too far like what he just did.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that he cares about me enough to go as far as cock-blocking himself, but sometimes, the situation becomes so frustrating in more ways than one.

"Hey," he tapped my chin so I would look at him again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I sighed. "Sorry. I'm still a bit wound up, but you're right. I know you're right. There's no need for us to be hasty."

Edward continued to stare at me with eyes that were still blazing with excitement, and after a second, he scooted closer so that he could hold me. "I think I should be the one doing the apologizing for…winding you up. If it's any consolation, I'm pretty much in the same state as you."

"I could tell."

He took a deep breath. "Look, I know I've been a massive cock-block whenever things get…interesting, but I want you to know it's not because I don't want you," I felt my face being tilted and my eyes met his. "It's because I don't want your first time to happen so quickly that you'll regret it later."

I wrapped my arms around his neck again. "I know, and I appreciate it. Really. I know I'm not ready yet for sex right now, but when things get all hot and steamy between us like what happened ten minutes ago…"

"It's difficult not to think about it."

"Yeah."

Silence encroached the room. "This is going to sound a little cheesy, but I want our first time together to be something special," Edward broke it first. "I promise, when you feel like you've…warmed up enough, so to speak, I'll try my best to make it amazing for you. You deserve nothing less."

I smiled. "You're too sweet, Edward. Any other boyfriend would probably be pushing for sex rather than what you're doing."

"What can I say? I'm clearly the anti-thesis of an asshole," he grinned back, instantly lightening the mood. "So you're really okay with me pulling the brakes whenever we unconsciously get into foreplay?"

"I am," I said honestly. "Besides, we always start making out at the wrong times. Take right now for instance. You have class in about half an hour, and I promised Alice I'd go with her to Jasper's gig."

"Don't worry, the perfect moment will present itself soon enough," he replied in reassurance. "For now, just let me have you like this."

I nodded and rested my head on his chest, telling myself to put sex out of my mind for the time being and just carry on until the right time arrives.

…

For the next two days, I managed to keep that promise. Other things like university work and YouTube filled my thoughts, and while Edward still made me feel…flirty whenever he held my hand, I kept thoughts of making love to him strictly in my peripheries.

Until I uncovered fanart and fanfiction.

Now as a student of Art, I'm all for creative outlets and self-expression, but some of the pictures and stories I stumbled upon were bordering on the extreme.

Let's take the art, for example.

Aside from cute and perfectly innocent Photoshop pieces of Edward and me, the fandom apparently also enjoyed creating photo manipulations of us in very compromising situations. There was one where a shirtless Edward had his hand up my skirt, another where we were tangled in bed naked, and even one where he was fondling my boobs – no nipple censor or anything!

Sketches weren't spared from the onslaught of erotic imagery either. Yes, I'll admit, I have a drawing or four of Edward scattered throughout my latest sketch pad, but it's not like ever drew him like one of my French girls – all sprawled out and naked. The drawings on the internet, though? Yeah, definitely in French girl territory.

And then there was the fanfiction. Sweet mother of cripes, the fanfiction.

Within the relatively short period of time Edward and I have been together, people have managed to create a quite impressive number of stories. I've read literary works that are centred on sex before, but it was just weird as all out to see my name attached to situations involving a lot of 'pounding' and 'riding.'

A common theme I saw in the few I had the guts to read was me cooking in nothing but an apron and heels, and Edward doing very naughty things with a vibrating controller. There was a lot of food play as well, and there were some…creative wordings all throughout.

I will never view a joystick or a Wiimote in the same way again.

Needless to say, the whole excursion made me cringe, but it also made me think about sex with Edward. Again.

"Bellsie!" Alice barging into my room fortunately distracted me. "You have to help me get ready. I can't tie the laces up!" she turned around to show the long row of holes meant to be looped through with a strip of ribbon.

"Why are you wearing such a complicated dress?" I asked. "We're just meeting Rosalie for dinner." It was her last night in New York – Carlisle, Esme, and Lauren flew home earlier – and she wanted to have a meal with everyone, Alice and Jasper included. Jasper couldn't make it, though, as he has a paper to rush, so it was just going to be us girls.

Alice blinked at me incredulously. "Are you kidding? There is no 'just' when it comes to Rosalie Cullen. I know she's like your sister-in-law or whatever, but she's a fashion queen, and I refuse to embarrass myself in her presence. Do you know _Seventeen _named her the Most Stylish Woman last month, and _Cosmo _said she – "

"Okay, I get it," I chuckled. "Rosalie is a fashion goddess and shouldn't be in the presence of crimes against style. Just give me the ribbon."

She handed it over and I go to work.

"You know, Rose isn't uptight or all hoity-toity. She's really down to earth," I said when I was about halfway up Alice's back. "I mean, she didn't care what _I _was wearing when I met her."

"Hmm. I suppose you have a point," she muttered. "Still, though. I want to look my best."

An hour later, Alice finally deemed herself ready and we drove to the restaurant. There, we were led by the maitre d' to the table where Edward and Emmett were already waiting.

"Hi, sweetheart," Edward kissed me on the cheek. "Was the drive up here okay?"

"It was fine," I smiled. Seeing him brought the smut I read earlier to the front of my mind again, but I shoved them to the back. Now was _really_ not the time for that.

"Belly!" Emmett boomed before hugging me. "Glad you guys finally showed up. I'm hungry!"

"Hi, Em," I chuckled. "We would've been here sooner if Alice hadn't taken so long. Oh, uh, this is her by the way," I gestured to my cousin after realizing she and Emmett hadn't been introduced yet. "Al, this is Edward's roommate, Emmett."

"Nice to meet you, shorty," Emmett greeted.

"You, too, gentle giant," Alice giggled.

Further introductions were made when Rosalie returned from the bathroom. We all took our seats around the table afterwards.

"This is so surreal. I actually _know _you now," Alice said to Rosalie in awe. "You are definitely one of my style inspirations."

"Thank you," Rose replied kindly. "I have to say, I adore your fashion sense. Is that dress Marc Jacobs?"

"OMG, yes!" Alice clapped excitedly. "He designed your gown for the Miss Universe pageant, right? The lavender one?"

"Lavender?" Emmett's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Wasn't your gown red?"

"Nah, man, I'm pretty sure it was green," Edward said.

"Green? Red? What the hell are you two talking about?" Rosalie asked. "Alice is right, it was lavender."

"Then when did you wear the red dress?" Emmett pondered. "Ah, well. Must've been another pageant. Heh, I forgot I didn't even watch this year's competition."

"_What?!"_ Rose's eyebrows shot up. "You didn't watch Miss Universe?"

"Uh…" Emmett fiddled with his utensils nervously. "Well, not the whole thing, but – "

"And you," she looked at Edward. "Did you watch?"

"Well, I didn't get to watch the _beginning _part – "

"I can't believe you two!" Rosalie shook her head and turned to Alice and I. "Can you believe this? And they're supposed to be my boyfriend and my brother."

"Men," Alice patted her back in sister solidarity. "Sometimes they just don't get it."

"Hey, I watched the question and answer part when you got picked for the top five," Emmett defended himself. "You always did say that brains is more important than beauty. And I watched your coronation, too!"

Rose huffed, but after a while, she forgave him.

"I have a confession to make," I whispered in Edward's ear as the two made up. "I haven't watched the pageant either."

Edward chuckled. "You really are the perfect girl for me."

The food arrived then, and the discussion revolved around different topics as we ate. At some point, Alice brought up a YouTube charity event that she planned on participating in.

"It's going to happen during spring break in Cali, so the timing's perfect," she said. "All the proceeds made in ticket sales will go to various organizations like Charity: Water."

"Edward and Bella will probably go," Rosalie remarked. "Or wait, aren't you guys visiting Chicago during spring break?"

"We are," Edward nodded, his eyes turning to me. "Well, we haven't actually talked about our schedule for that time period is yet."

"I'd love to go with you to Chicago," I said. "And you said you wanted to see my folks in Forks, too?"

"Of course I do."

"I think the timeline can work in your favour if you wanted to go to the charity thing," Alice pointed out. "You can go to Chicago and Forks during the first couple of days, then head to California until classes start again. That's what Jasper and I are planning to do. The event isn't until April third, anyway."

"Sounds like a good idea," Edward mused. "What do you think, Bella?"

"I'm agreeable," I told him. "That is, if you're willing to spend the whole of spring break with me."

"You know I am," he grinned and kissed my hand.

"It's settled, then. This is going to be so much fun!" Alice clapped happily again.

I smiled as my mind fully registered our new schedule. Edward and I, for all intents and purposes, are going to be alone for roughly two weeks. Well, not in Chicago or Forks since that's where the parental units are, but California…there was nothing to disturb us there.

Could that be the 'perfect moment' Edward was talking about?

**The first lines of the chapter are from a real documentary by National Geographic titled _Egypt's Ten Greatest Discoveries_.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Bros," Edward was clearly out of breath, but he still held the camera to his face as we ran. "We're late. We're really fucking late."

"We're gonna make it!" I shouted at the background. "Come on, man, we're almost there."

Thankfully, I was right, and after sprinting a couple more feet, Edward and I managed to board our flight with about ten seconds to spare.

"We're alive!" Edward laughed as we collapsed in our seats. "High five, bro."

I clapped my hand against his as I chuckled with him.

"That was intense," he looked at the camera before turning to me. "We should head to the airport earlier next time."

"Why are you telling me? _You're _the reason why we're late to begin with," I pointed out. Theoretically, it was a good idea for me to sleep at Edward's place last night since our flight today was early, but having spent the night kissing and playing Cards Against Humanity left us tired when six AM rolled around. I managed to force myself to get up, but Edward just hit snooze and went back to sleep.

"Lies! All lies. I'm editing that out," Edward hid the device before ultimately turning it off. "Well. That was exciting."

"What, rushing through the airport while you have a camera filming us?" I asked. "Yeah, it's definitely exhilarating."

"It would be a great intro for this vlog, though," he said. That was one more thing about having a YouTuber for a boyfriend, I guess – you get to be a part of a couple of vlogs.

Though I do YouTube myself, I've never filmed myself do anything other than cook; my life isn't exciting enough to be monitored that way. The couple I've seen seem fun, though, so I figured, why not do my very first vlog on our spring break adventure?

"I'll have to think of a great way to start mine out, too," I mused. "How about one of you snoring after we take off?"

"I don't snore," Edward scoffed. "Did you remember your camera, by the way?"

"Hey, I only forgot it one time. But yes, I did," I rifled through my backpack and turned it on before aiming the lens at him.

He immediately started making faces and posing ridiculously so I stopped recording lest we get kicked out.

The six-hour flight from New York to Seattle carried on without any snags both on the plane's part and mine. When the pilot announced that we were about to touch down in Sea-Tac, however, that's when the nervousness began.

I was excited to see my parents again, sure, and I did miss Forks, but I've never brought a boy home before. And it's not any boy, either – it's the boy my mother's now apparently a fan of and my father's most likely been stalking.

_That can be advantageous_, I tried convincing myself. _Since they already know who Edward is – and already had a chance to speak to him – that would soften the blow somewhat._

_Do you seriously believe that, Bella?_

_No, but I'm trying to be optimistic here._

And I held on to that optimism as Edward and I went through the usual airport procedures and began our three-hour drive to Forks. Or I tried, at least. Edward's ease helped, but a part of my overthink-y brain just kept conjuring horrible scenarios.

"Hey," I said once we got in the rental car. "I have something to ask you."

"Is this going to be another pun? Because you know I _will _pun you back, and mine are usually worse than yours."

"No," I laughed. "Though, yes, your puns are generally chicken pellets compared to mine. Anyway, I was just wondering…are you nervous?"

I expected to hear a self-reassured answer, but instead, Edward replied with "Of course I am."

"Really? You don't show it."

"I'm going with the 'fake it till you make it' technique."

"To be honest, I'm kinda nervous, too."

"It's not because you think your parents won't approve of me, do you?" Edward's tone was playful, but I could detect genuine worry.

"Not at all. I'm nervous because…well, you've spoken to them, so you know how…quirky they are. I mean, they didn't chase you away last time, but you just spoke to them through the phone."

Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed reassuringly. "Sweetheart, you don't need to stress yourself about me leaving; it's not going to happen. And as for their quirks, well, they made you, didn't they? So they can't be as bad as you think."

I reached across the console to kiss his cheek.

_Maybe this trip won't go so terribly after all._

…

"Well, we're here," I said as I looked out the window to see my childhood home. It was repainted last Christmas, so at least Edward didn't have to see the horrible chipping mess it was before.

"It's quaint," Edward observed. "Did only you and your parents live here?"

"Yeah. Alice stayed over whenever her parents would go gallivant somewhere, but for the most part, it's just been me and the folks. They're, uh, kinda peeking at us from the window right now, by the way."

The curtain visibly trembled as if to verify that.

"They must be getting impatient," Edward put on a brave smile. "Let's go."

We walked the short distance from the car to the front porch with Edward carrying both his luggage and mine. The door opened once we were in front of it and I was suddenly wrapped in a tight embrace.

"Baby!" Mom squealed. "I've missed you so much!"

"Missed you too, Mom," my voice was muffled by her very floral-smelling hair.

"Look at you, you're glowing," she stepped back and marvelled at my appearance. "Love suits you well. And speaking of which, the handsome young man you're with must be Edward."

"It's great to finally meet you in person, Mrs. Swan," Edward smiled warmly at her. He dropped the bags when Mom suddenly bear hugged him, too.

"It's Renee, remember? Or you can call me Mom, if you like."

"I think he'll just stick with your name, Ma," I told her as a blush covered my cheeks.

"Why? Too soon?" Mom asked.

"Just a little bit," Dad spoke this time. He stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Hey, Bells."

"Dad," I hugged him briefly since he wasn't really one for displays of affection. In the presence of company, anyway. According to Mom, he was still a complete 'stallion in the sack': a fact I never wanted to know, but at least their love life was still interesting.

"I know you already kinda know who he is, but this is Edward," I reached for Edward's hand. "Edward, this is my dad, Charlie."

"Chief Swan," Edward nodded politely. "Nice to speak to you again, sir."

Dad's moustache twitched, but he didn't say anything. He simply held out his hand for Edward to shake.

"Well," Mom clapped her hands together. "I think it's time we stop standing out here when there's a perfectly warm living room waiting. Come on in! We have some excellent food if you kids are hungry."

"You didn't cook, did you?" I asked with genuine worry. The story I told Edward before about Mom only managing to make cereal was no joke; she had me scared of eating chicken for a solid six months since the Great Easter Roast of '04.

"Bella, she said 'excellent food.' Obviously, she didn't make it," Dad chortled. He was helping Edward with the luggage. "Harry Clearwater down at the Rez did."

Mom slapped his arm. "Oh, shut up, Charlie. Like you're any better than me. But we truly are glad you'll be staying with us for a few days, baby," she smiled at me. "Meals haven't been the same without you."

"Don't worry, Ma, I'll take over kitchen duties while I'm here," I chuckled, but stopped abruptly when I saw the huge banner hanging above the couch.

'WELCOME BELLA AND BOYFRIEND' it said. Actually, it looked like it originally contained 'WELCOME BELLA AND FRIEND' only, but the word 'BOY' was inserted with curly handwriting that could only be my mother's.

Good gracious, someone help me.

"You like?" Mom asked when she noticed what I was staring at. "We made it when we thought we were picking you up for the airport, but since you decided to just drive over, I figured why not use it for something else? I made some tweaks since your dad made the original. Hashtag cool and on fleek, am I right?"

"Uh...yeah, um, Mom. It's…cool."

"It's to make your bae feel more welcome," her face lit up with excitement. "Oh, and if I hadn't said it before, Edward, welcome to the Swan brood!"

"Thanks, Renee," Edward said as I felt him vibrate with silent laughter behind me. His amusement was contagious and I could feel myself start to giggle as well.

Luckily, Dad chose that moment to suggest we settle upstairs. The three of us trudged to the second floor where my bag was deposited in my childhood bedroom and Edward's in the guest room. Figures my dad wouldn't want us sleeping in the same bed.

Five minutes later, I was digging through my suitcase to find a fresh shirt to change into when a loud huff and a hand on my shoulder made me jump about a foot in the air.

"You're gonna pay for that," I laughed and shoved Edward playfully. We've pranked each other before, but it still surprised me. The camera in his hand clearly captured my embarrassing reaction this time, too.

"Yeah? What're you gonna do?"

"This house has CCTV all over the place," I told him seriously. "I'm sure I'll find footage of you doing something."

"You're joking," Edward said, though I could see a flicker of worry in his eyes.

"Hey, my dad's chief of police. The safety of his family's top priority."

Even with the compact camera blocking a part of his face, the nervous expression on his face was clear. I let him sweat for a second more before loud guffaws escaped me.

"You should see your face," I wiped the corners of my eyes. "That was hilarious!"

"Hee-ha-ha," Edward rolled his eyes. His strong arms carried me to the bed before I could fully recover.

"I think that's enough vlogging for now," he turned his camera off and proceeded to fall on top of me.

"Probably," I pushed back the hair on his forehead. "In all seriousness, though, there aren't any cameras here. Forks is too boring a town to warrant that kind of security."

"Good," he replied. "Because I really don't want your dad seeing me do this." He captured my lips with his in a heated kiss.

"Mm," I hummed and wrapped my legs around his waist. "I'm really dirty. You sure you want to do this now?"

"Do what?" his hands started stroking my waist.

"You know what –" I gasped when I felt him bite the juncture between my neck and shoulder. "What I mean."

The sound of footsteps running up the stairs unfortunately forced us to pull away from each other. It turned out to be my mother.

"Bella?" she peeked into my room. "Hey. How are you guys doing?"

"We're fine, Mom," I said a little breathlessly.

"That's good. And how are you liking the guest room, Edward? I tried telling Charlie that you two are old enough to share a bed, but the man just won't get in with the times," she shook her head. "He's not as hip as I am."

"No worries, Renee, the guest room's fine," Edward assured her. "And I can understand Chief Swan."

"That's nice of you," Mom patted his hand. "So what were you two talking about?"

Edward and I looked at each other before turning back to her. "Just stuff, Ma. You know, like what we're going to do tomorrow."

"Ooh, I see. You two are going with your dad to the lake tomorrow, right? You'll love the place, Edward. It's very peaceful. I tweeted about it a few weeks ago – did you see it?"

I knew he probably didn't with the number of tweets he was tagged in and how generally busy his life was, but he still said, "Yeah, I did. It looks beautiful, and I'm looking forward to seeing it in person."

"Awesomesauce! Oh, and since we're on the topic of Twitter, do you mind if the we take a selfie together? People won't believe me when I tell them I'm Bella's mom and most likely your future mother-in-law – I know right, it's so stupid. I mean, you both follow me. Anyway, I want to send the haters some proof. You join in, too, baby."

"Ren?" Dad's voice suddenly rang out from the hallway. "Where are you?"

"Bella's room, honey," Mom shouted back.

"There you are," Dad appeared at the doorway. "I wondered where you went. Is the fish fry ready? I'm starving and I'm sure the kids can do with some grub."

"Forget about your stomach for a sec, Charlie. We're gonna take a selfie first!"

"A self-_what_?"

"A selfie! Come here and we'll take it all together."

He reluctantly approached as Mom held her phone a few inches higher in front of us. "Say cheese!"

She held up a peace sign by her eyes as Dad just stood there bewildered, Edward looked like he was about to start laughing, and I had a slightly mortified smile on my face.

And that's basically how the most awkward picture ever ended up on the Internet.


	13. Chapter 13

Lying in bed while doing nothing has always been the part I hated most about insomnia. It always led me to over thinking, unnecessary anxiety, and generally just scaring myself with my own imagination.

So, as I experienced another bout with the stupid sleep disorder, I decided that I wasn't going to just stare at the ceiling. Instead, I did what any other sane person would do: talk to a camera.

"Hey, guys. It's currently two-thirty AM and I can't sleep. Yay!" I whispered to the lens while my free hand raised a sarcastic thumbs-up. "I'm wide awake, so that means I can hang out with you guys…until I get sleepy…which I really hope is going to happen soon.

"Also, I'm going to try to keep my voice down because everyone else in the house is asleep, and if I wake anyone up, they'll probably…throw me in a pen of angry badgers or something," I laughed quietly. "Let's see what adventures I'll get up to."

A few minutes and a quick perusal of the Internet later, I found that adventure.

"Alrighty," I sat at my desk with the camera propped on some old books. "So, after browsing through the interwebs, I came across a little test that's bound to give very interesting results: the 'who is your YouTube boyfriend' quiz."

I paused for the dramatic music I planned on editing in.

"I'm slightly scared of how this is going to go, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh? I'm not sure what I'm supposed to gain from this, though…anyway! First question."

**Q1: What's your favourite type of movie?**

**Chick flicks fow show**

**Horror movies. Period.**

**Anything's fine, as long as ratings are good :D**

"Horror movies," I answered automatically. "I love those, especially the psychological-thriller ones. Just don't make me play the game version – that's what Edward's for," I chuckled.

**Q2: You're going to prom! Which of these dresses would you wear?**

I clicked through the four options and cringed at all of them. "Uh…" I raised an eyebrow. "Well, none of these are really my type and I never went to my prom, but…this one'll do, I guess," I chose the most un-revealing dress.

**Q3: Who is your favourite YouTuber?**

**Liam or Riley from Smash**

**stefanisnotinteresting**

**LessAmazingQuil**

**Tyler Crowley**

"What's the point of this question?" I asked. "Aren't you already answering your own question if you – you know what, never mind. I like all of these guys, but let's just go with Quil."

The rest of the questions were of the same nature, and after answering about five more, I got the message saying that my answers were being processed.

"This is it," I rubbed my hands as I grinned at the camera. "The results are almost – hold on, they _are _in. And my YouTube boyfriend is – "

"Bella?" a gentle knock on the door almost made me fall off my chair. "Sweetheart, you awake?"

"Holy cheese," I held a hand over my rapidly beating heart. "Edward?"

The door opened slightly and sure enough, Edward's head poked in. "Hey,"

"Hey, yourself," I laughed breathlessly. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I couldn't sleep," he whispered back. He closed the door behind him once he had entered my room. "What about you?"

"Couldn't sleep either," I admitted. "That's why I'm doing a vlog."

"I see," he stood next to me so he could see my laptop. "Is that Stefan?"

"Huh?" I looked at my screen. "Oh, yeah. I took this quiz, and apparently, he's my YouTube boyfriend. Hah, there's even a narrative on how we met and everything," I quickly read through the paragraphs. "I ran into him while vacationing in London and it was love at first sight," I glanced at Edward. "What do you think?"

His face was expressionless as he said, "Well, I guess I'm going to have to kill Stefan, then."

I stood and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Of course _you're _my real boyfriend, silly."

"Fuck yes, I am," he growled quietly. "You're mine."

I showed him my agreement by kissing him.

He pulled away after a minute to look sideways at my laptop.

"Relax, I'm not going to leave you for Stefan," I pressed my lips to his jaw.

"I know you aren't, but I'm just curious," he grinned playfully. "Who would _my _YouTube boyfriend be?"

…

After taking the quiz as well – he got himself, for some reason – Edward and I still weren't tired, so we decided to watch TV downstairs. Movies were surprisingly good at three AM, and with the snack I whipped up, we were alert as ever.

We must have passed out at some point, though, because next thing I knew, a loud cough suddenly jolted me into consciousness.

"What– " I began until I saw my father glaring down at me. "Dad?"

"Bella," he grunted in reply. "What are you doing?"

Edward shifting beneath me as his arm tightened around my waist reminded me where I was.

"We just fell asleep like this," I told him honestly. "Edward and I couldn't sleep, so we figured watching some movies might – "

"Chief Swan!" Edward's panicked voice interrupted me. He quickly rearranged us so we were in a more acceptable position. "Sir, we just fell asleep like this, but I swear, nothing –"

"Charlie, did you see where the noise was coming from?" Mom's made her grand entrance then. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw us. "Oh, I didn't know you two would be up already."

Both Edward and I began to speak, but Dad cut in. "The noise was just the TV, Ren," he looked at us briefly. "Apparently, Edward and Bella forgot to turn it off."

"Forgot to – wait, you woke up this early just to watch TV?" Mom asked.

"No, Ma. We both couldn't sleep last night, so we watched a couple of movies. The, uh, TV was left on because we both fell asleep in the middle of that."

"Oh, okay," Mom nodded, totally okay with the situation. "So do you feel like making waffles for breakfast, baby? I kept seeing these waffle posts on Pinterest last night that i'm just _dying _to have one now."

"Um," I peeked at Dad's unreadable expression and Edward's anxious one. "Yeah, sure. I can do waffles."

Breakfast carried on in slightly awkwardly after that with Mom keeping conversation alive and Dad eating his meal quietly. Edward kept glancing at me as if to silently ask if my dad was pissed, and I tried to convey that he probably wasn't. I mean, I knew how Dad was when he was mad, and his behaviour now wasn't like that.

Still, Edward declared that he needed to apologize.

"What for?" I said. "I don't think he's angry. I mean, he didn't give a lecture or anything, which is what he always does whenever I get in trouble. He was just...surprised, I guess."

"What for? Well, for corrupting his little angel, for one," he ran a hand through his hair. "He probably thinks I lured you downstairs to – "

"Okay, okay. Calm yo tits," I placed my hands on his hard chest. "Dad isn't angry, alright? And he doesn't hate you. Stop panicking."

"You're right," Edward sighed. "You're right. I'm probably just blowing this completely out of proportion."

"Sounds like something I would do," I smiled. "And 'little angel'? Believe me, both my parents know what a hellion I was to raise. You don't have to worry about corrupting me."

He laughed and kissed the top of my head. "No, I suppose I don't. I still think I should apologize, though. Just out of respect. And I don't want our time at the lake to be even more awkward than breakfast."

"You have a point there."

The two of us went downstairs where Dad was looking into the cooler. Edward cleared his throat before speaking in a clear tone. "Chief Swan? Can I talk to you, sir?"

Dad didn't say anything, but nodded to the direction of the back porch. I gave Edward one last reassuring smile before they disappeared through the screen door.

A loud knock at the front made itself known almost as soon as that happened. "Mom, are you expecting anyone?" I asked.

"No," Mom called from her sewing room. "Oh, wait. That must be Jacob."

"Jacob?" I repeated. What the hell was the kid from across the street doing here?

"He volunteered to mow the lawn," Mom explained. "I think he just wants to see you, though. I told him last week that you and Edward'll be here and his face just lit up like a Christmas tree."

"I don't think it's me he's excited to see," I murmured. When I opened the door, the first words out of Jacob's mouth confirmed that.

"Is it true? CULLEngage is here?"

"Well, hello to you too," I greeted dryly, stepping aside to let him in. "Nice to know you still remember me, kid."

"Bella, I see you every year," the gangly thirteen-year-old plopped down on the sofa; he's grown since the last time I saw him. "But I've never met a celebrity before. Where is he? Can I meet him now? Do you think he'll sign my headset? I got one just like his!"

"He's a little busy right now," I informed him just as I felt an arm around my shoulders. "Oh, hey," I looked up at Edward.

"Dude," Jacob was on his feet again and openly gawking at my boyfriend.

"This is Jake," I figured I'd do introductions while he was still speechless. "He lives across the street. Pretty big fan of yours, I believe."

"I see," Edward smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Edward."

"Dude, I totally know who you are," Jake sputtered as he shook the hand Edward put out. "And it is just awesome to meet you, man. I can't believe I'm shaking your hand right now!"

"You might wanna take it easy on the fangirling there," I laughed.

"It's cool," Edward chuckled with me. "Hey, are those – "

"Razer headphones? Yeah, I got one just like yours," Jacob removed the large headset from his neck. "Will you sign it? And can we take a picture together?"

While my very patient boyfriend humoured him, Dad reappeared with some poles and his tackling box. "What are they doing?" he asked me with genuine curiosity. "Do Jacob and Edward know each other?"

"They just met," I said. "Jake's a fan of his, though."

"Right, with his YouTube...thing," Dad scratched his neck. "Now I know why he was so eager to work on the yard, and on this day in particular. Well, anyway. Once they're done, we should get going."

"Okay. Wait, Dad," I reached for his arm. "Um, how – how did your talk go? With Edward. I mean, you were at it for a while."

He glanced at the two boys in front of us. "I'll tell you later, Bella. Promise."

...

The journey to the lake wasn't that long, and surprisingly, not at all uncomfortable. Whatever problems Dad and Edward had – if there were any to begin with – seemed to have disappeared because they were actually speaking to each other without me having to act as mediator.

Well, their topics were pretty safe like if Edward had any fishing experience and such, but it was a start.

"Wow," Edward commented once we parked. "Renee was right, this is beautiful."

"I come down here for the peace and quiet," Dad agreed. "Come on. Let's go set up on one of those tables."

I offered to help carry the equipment we brought, but the two most important men of my life insisted that they could handle it. They didn't argue when I said I'd be in charge of lunch, however.

"We're eating the fish we catch today, right?" I asked. The only ingredients in the cooler were for seasoning and side dishes.

"Yep," Dad replied. "Though I think we should gather some wood for the fire first before we get on the boat. You mind looking for some, Edward?"

"Not at all, Chief," Edward nodded. He shot me a grin before wandering near the surrounding forest in search of some dry wood.

"Dad, you have a portable stove stored at the back of your truck at all times," I raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Just wanted to speak to you privately," Dad shrugged. "You want to know what we talked about, don't you?"

"You could've just told Edward you wanted to speak to me for a minute, y'know."

"Where's the fun in that?"

I shoved his side playfully. "So, what happened? Edward thought you hated him before you guys talked, but now, you both seem to get along."

"The boy has principles, which I can appreciate. And he's brave for wanting to speak with me alone," he chuckled. "Most importantly, though, he really does care about you. I could tell from his words to the look in his eyes."

"He's really good to me, Dad," I told him. "And he's good _for _me, too."

"Mm," Dad nodded. "You do seem happier these days."

"So you approve of him?"

"I think we're beyond approval at this point."

I didn't understand what he meant by that until Edward returned with an armful of wood.

"This is all I could find," he placed them in a neat stack. "Without wandering too far, anyway. I hope they're enough, sir."

"They'll do, son. They'll do," Dad patted him on the shoulder. "And I think it's high time you called me Charlie, don't you think?"

The smile on Edward's face rivalled my own, but both of ours were no match for Dad's.


	14. Chapter 14

"Go faster."

"No, we have to stay slow."

"Faster, Edward!"

"That's not a good idea, Bella."

"No, no, look. The baby's going to – and it woke up," I laughed as the evil baby sat up in its crib and proceeded to jump scare us. Edward and I probably could be doing something more productive in the Chicago coffee shop we were in, but _Hotel 626 _was pretty damn entertaining.

"Maybe we should call it quits," I closed the laptop. "We've already died twice in that level, and all four people in this place are starting to stare."

"Nah, not everyone. That guy just looked," Edward pointed to a dude across the floor.

"Right," I chuckled. Slumping against his body, I laid my head on his shoulder. "I'm tired." How could travelling be so exhausting? All you do is sit, really, yet the whole process still wears you out.

"I know, sweetheart, I know," Edward brought us closer together. He kissed my forehead before speaking. "Maybe we can take a nap once we get to my parents' house. Now if only Rosalie would get here…"

"Has she texted back?" I asked. Rose volunteered to pick us up from the airport despite our arrival falling at four-thirty in the morning.

"Yeah. She says she's on the way. Knowing her, however, she probably got lost," he shook his head.

"Come on. Her sense of direction can't be _that _bad."

Edward turned to me with an amused expression. "Rosalie forgets where she parks her car. I think it's safe to bet that she forgot the way to the airport."

"Didn't you guys grow up here, though?"

"Trust me, Bella. Unless she has her GPS working again or she's with Emmett, Rose won't be able to make it here before lunch time."

I blinked. "You're being serious."

"As a heart attack. Hah, see? I texted Em if he knew where Rosalie was and he replied with this," he handed me his phone.

**dude shes with me. took a taxi to her 5 mins ago LOL. probs be there in 10**

Huh, so he wasn't kidding. "Wow."

"Yeah. Why do you think I decided we wait in a coffee shop instead of just the airport? If we're going to wait long, might as well be comfortable, right?" he nuzzled my neck playfully.

That made me giggle, but a whimper escaped my lips as soon as he started leaving kisses.

"That sound," he growled against my skin. "I wish I could get you alone already. "God, do you know how difficult it's been not to touch you these last couple of days?"

"I missed you, too," my hands covered his to make him hold me tighter.

"You're staying in my room when we get to the house," he muttered. "I've gotten too used to sleeping next to you that I can't sleep without you anymore."

I knew that was true, because I felt the same way. I never noticed before, but after that sleepless night at my folks', I saw the pattern of my sleep habits: that the only nights I couldn't doze off were the ones without Edward.

"Won't your parents mind?"

"If they do, I'll sneak just into your room."

"Oh. So, you've never brought a girl home before?" I was genuinely curious…and slightly scared. How many girls made it to the Cullen house before me?

"No," he answered in a way that left no room for doubt. "You're the first girl I've brought home and the first I've ever introduced to my family, too."

"Why's that?"

"No one's mattered as much to me as you," Edward smiled. "I'm serious about us, Bella. You do know that, right?"

I twisted my torso and hugged his neck. "I know that, silly boy. I'm serious about us, too."

"Yeah? You're not just saying that 'cause I'm your first boyfriend?" he asked, jokingly serious.

"I'm saying it because it's true."

He leaned in to kiss me then, and like all the other times, my heart raced and my mind went blank. All I could think about was Edward's lips on mine.

_I will never get tired of this, _I thought as his head tilted to deepen the kiss. It was unfortunate that the loud honk of Emmett's Jeep just had to ruin the moment.

…

When I woke up a few hours later, the first thing I saw was the enthusiastic face of Ash Ketchum thrusting a Pok_é_ Ball at me.

I blinked and tried to rub the sleep off my eyes. Where was I and where was Edward?

Luckily, I found him quickly after turning my head to the right. He was fast asleep on a yellow pillow that looked very familiar.

It turned out to be a giant Pikachu head.

Heck, the whole bed was decked with Pikachu-themed paraphernalia.

I sat up and scanned what had to be Edward's old bedroom. Someone was obviously a huge _Pok__é__mon _fan if the bed, posters, plushies, and glass-cased figures were any indication, but it looked like _World of Warcraft _and _BioShock _can be added to his list of interests, too.

I laughed quietly to myself. Edward was a dork through and through, but that somehow made him all the more endearing. Of course, it helped that I was a fan of the things he liked, too.

"What's so funny," he murmured beside me; I didn't know he was already awake.

"Nothing. I was just admiring your collections."

I was surprised to hear a resigned sigh. "Go ahead. Make fun of me and tell me what a massive geek I am."

"You're a massive geek, yes, but why would I make fun of you?" I pushed his hair away from his face. "I happen to think this room's impressive. I do think you're overdoing Pikachu a little, though. Or maybe I'm just saying that because I prefer Raichu. And Groudon. Those two have always been my favourite."

Edward stared at me incredulously. "You like _Pok__é__mon_?"

"Dude, I grew up on it – what's not to like?" I replied. "Why do you look so shocked? I thought we already established after I scored a perfect hundred that _Star Wars _quiz that I'm as big a dork as you are."

"I know, I know. Sorry. This shock's the good kind," he reassured me. His arms want around my waist as he sat up. "I guess you're just more perfect for me than I thought."

We headed downstairs for breakfast after a few more minutes lounging in bed. Despite the relatively early hour, Esme was already up and about in the kitchen when we got there.

"You're up!" she gave both of us a hug. "We thought you wouldn't make an appearance for another couple of hours. Was the trip okay?"

"The trip was fine, Mom" Edward patiently allowed his mother to fuss over him. "Rose and Emmett dropped us off at around five AM."

"Where are they?" I asked. I thought the one person I'd see for sure in the kitchen was Emmett.

"They're in Rosalie's apartment across town. They'll come back for lunch, don't worry," Esme smiled at me. "So what would you like for breakfast? I only have coffee ready."

"Serve me up some protein," Carlisle strutted into the room. "Gotta stock up some energy for later."

"Dad, what the f – I mean, what on earth are you wearing?"

"My workout clothes?" Carlisle glanced at his outfit. He had a normal grey shirt on, but the real eye catcher was his baby blue workout shorts. I haven't seen those anywhere but my parents' photos from the eighties. "What's wrong? I always wear these when I go out and exercise."

"You do?" Edward's eyebrows rose. "Don't you think those are a little too…short?"

Esme went to her husband's side and patted his chest. "Oh, pish. Don't let the boy get to you, honey. I happen to think your ass looks fine in these," she gave him a kiss while Edward muttered "Oh dear lord…"

"Thank you. I'm glad you can appreciate my fashion sense," Carlisle chuckled. "Why aren't you dressed yet? You know Mrs. Volturi hates it when we show up late."

"I'll do it after breakfast," Esme told him before turning to us. "Do you want to tag along? The Zumba class is open for everyone."

"Wow, you guys do Zumba?" That was remarkable. I don't think I've ever seen my parents get up and exercise. Well, Mom went through a belly dancing phase, but it ended after she ripped her best sari.

"Yes, over at the community center," Carlisle replied. "It's a pretty amazing program, really. They use all the hits from the eighties, and not to brag, but Esme and I are always the stars of the show."

"Hah, Mrs. Volturi _wishes_ she can shake it like I can," Esme wiggled her hips. "I wonder how she ended up teaching that class. The woman can't tell her foot from her elbow."

"Just let the old coot be, honey. The Calls from next door told me that they're only letting her stay for one more presentation. Maybe you can volunteer to be her replacement after that."

"That sounds like a great idea! Then we can invite the kids to watch the presentation I'll choreograph. You should definitely wear these sexy little shorts and I could do that move where I put my leg on your– "

"Okay, I think that's enough talk on Zumba and Dad's shorts," Edward interrupted. "Can we eat now, please?"

"Don't you want to see my moves?"Esme placed her hands on her hips.

"Mom. Please," Edward pleaded. His ears were starting to turn red.

"Fine, fine. Bella, will you lend a hand, dear?"

"I'd love to, Esme," I kept my smile controlled lest I let out the fit of giggles I was holding in.

_So this is what Edward felt like when he met my parents._

…

"Ah," Edward collapsed on the leather sofa of the Cullens' fancy living room. His parents left for the community center a few minutes ago and we were left to our own devices. "Finally, I get to have you to myself."

"Like you haven't had me for the past couple of days," I snuggled into his side. "Aren't you sick of me yet?"

"I could never get sick of you," he said. "And we haven't been alone. Not really. There's always someone hanging around, getting ready to cock block."

"Last time I checked, you were the one doing the cock blocking," I pointed out.

"Bella…"

"What? I'm just saying."

"I know, but we talked about this."

"Well, we don't have to _actually _have sex yet," I said slowly. Gathering all my guts, I straddled his waist and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I just…I want you, Edward. Being around you all the time is just making my need for you worse." That and the fanfiction I couldn't resist reading, actually, but I didn't want to tell him that.

Edward groaned as his hands found my thighs. I thought he was going to push me away until he pulled me closer and kissed me.

"You're right," he rasped. "We should…we can…" he stopped me from squirming in his lap before continuing. "Maybe it's a good idea if we…ease into the main event."

"Really?" I wasn't expecting him to agree so quickly.

"You're not the only one suffering here, sweetheart," he swivelled his hips slightly, letting me feel his reaction to me.

"When should we start?" I asked a little too eagerly.

"Tonight?" he suggested. "I – well, you could tell my parents are okay with you staying in my room, and everyone in the house aside from me heads to bed early."

"Okay," I smiled widely. "Okay."

He laughed and kissed my neck. "I can't wait – "

"Edward," a foreign voice made us freeze.

"Laur," Edward cleared his throat while I scrambled off his lap. "Hey. Uh, good morning."

"Yeah," Lauren's glare alternated between the two of us. "Where's Mom?"

"You just missed her. She and Dad headed off to their Zumba class. She left you breakfast, though."

"Whatever. Just tell her Nana Cullen called."

"Really? I didn't hear the phone ring."

"That's 'cause you were too busy humping each other," Lauren rolled her eyes and a blush covered my cheeks.

"Why are you being so rude?" Edward asked her, his voice with a lot more power now. "I thought we already covered this, Laur. The attitude isn't necessary."

"Look, I didn't come down here to be lectured. All I'm saying is you should tell Mom Nana Cullen rang. Jeez," she muttered something else intelligible.

He sighed. "What did she say, anyway?"

"I dunno, something about coming over for lunch later with Rosalie. I think she wants to meet…_her_," she nodded in my direction.

"She has a name," Edward called after her, but she had already stomped away to the kitchen. "God, I'm so sorry. I'll have to talk to her about how she's acting."

"Is there anything I can do to make her…I dunno, like me?" I asked him.

"Just give it time. You're a beautiful girl, sweetheart. Both inside and out. She'll be your friend soon, I know it," he smiled encouragingly at me.

"I hope so."

"Anyway, she'll be on her best behaviour later when Nana Cullen comes over. She's my grandma's favourite, so she wouldn't dare fuck up that status by saying something mean."

I knew Edward meant to reassure me, but that just made things worse in my head. If Lauren was Nana Cullen's favourite and she clearly has a problem with me, will the only Cullen I haven't met yet have problems with me, too?

_Let the overthinking commence in three, two, one._


	15. Chapter 15

After the nervousness of meeting Nana Cullen abated some, I decided to counteract my brain's unnecessary paranoia by doing something productive.

Drawing first came to mind, but I quickly thought of a better idea: cooking lunch for the whole family.

It was a promising plan that killed two birds at once. Not only would I distract myself, but I would hopefully impress Nana Cullen as well.

I asked Esme for permission to use her kitchen first, of course, and she happily gave me her blessing. Unfortunately, an emergency at her interior design firm meant she couldn't help me out. I was left to my own devices, basically.

"Ricotta," I muttered to myself, my hand quickly scribbling on a scrap of paper. I always thought of better recipes when I wrote them down. "Then maybe spinach. And cherry toma – _whoa!_"

Something warm and heavy suddenly jumped on my lap. Confused, I looked down to see a chubby cat staring back at me. Its collar bore the name 'Mr. Jiggles' and I realized then that this was the childhood pet Edward had so many stories of.

Obviously, he wasn't the little kitten Edward grew up with anymore, but he looked like he aged well if his well-groomed fur and happy belly were any indication.

"Hello," I chuckled, stroking his furry head. "You want to keep me company?"

The purr Mr. Jiggles gave sounded like an affirmative to me. He rested his head on his paws as well, showing that he wasn't going anywhere.

I was careful not to move so much while I carried on writing. The ball of fluff on my lap was pretty huge by cat standards, and I was sure that if I shifted the wrong way, he would fall off.

"Jiggles!" Edward's voice rang loud and clear about ten minutes later. "Jiggles! Come on, _senpai_, notice me already!"

"Edward!" I called out to him as Mr. Jiggles adjusted his position. He was clearly disinterested in his name being shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for pussy," he came into the kitchen with a camera in his hand and a teasing grin on his face. "You haven't seen a furry beast prancing around, have you?"

"You mean the one between my legs?" I laughed when his eyes widened. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Technically, he's _on _my legs, not between them, though."

Edward hurriedly glanced over my shoulder and gave a whoop when he saw his pet. "There you are! Bros, we finally found him!" he gave his lens a thumbs up before turning it back to me. "Huh, he's gotten a lot fatter since the last time I saw him. You really let yourself go, man."

"Hey, he may be plus-sized, but he's still stealthy as all out," I said. "I didn't even know he was in here until he just jumped on me like a ninja."

"Nice, dude. That's the way to get the ladies," Edward patted his head before turning his camera off. "Is he bothering you with…whatever it is you're doing?"

"Not at all. He's like a furnace on my lap. And I was just putting together a new dish," I quickly explained my plan of making lunch for everyone.

"I see. Well, if you need a trusty assistant, I'm available," he offered. "If we're going to get anything done, however, we need to get Jiggles off of you first."

"Okay," I tried carrying the fur ball and found that my arms could barely support him. "Can you help – "

"Jiggles! _DEUTSCHLAND!_"

I laughed at Edward's sudden outburst. "Did you just shout 'Germany' at him?"

"It's effective. Look," Edward pointed excitedly. True enough, Mr. Jiggles lifted his head, glared at him, and jumped off my lap with the feline version of a huff.

"How does that even work?" I asked. "Did you just randomly shout that at him one day?"

"Pretty much," he shrugged. "I used '_Deutschland_' as a curse replacement once when I was in high school, and that made Jiggles stop whatever mess he was making for some reason. It was a good thing, too, since he kept knocking over my tripod and pulling my computer cord."

"Ah. I'll keep that in mind, then," I chuckled. Mr. Jiggles simply meowed and glared at Edward from my feet.

…

"This thing hates me," Edward grumbled. "Look! The stupid pasta keeps opening up. Why did you have to choose tortellini of all things to cook?"

"Oh, quit whining," I chided. "It's really not that difficult to fold them. Try using your middle finger and don't squeeze it so tight. You're gonna break it and make it squirt."

A loud guffaw escaped him. "More innuendos? I swear, sexual jokes are just unavoidable whenever we cook together."

"It's not my fault."

As I guided his hands to show him what I meant, a cough brought my attention elsewhere. Edward and I both looked up to see Lauren standing nearby.

"Have you seen Mr. Jiggles?" she asked flatly.

"Not really," Edward turned to me. "Did you see where he scampered off to?"

"He was in the breakfast nook last time I checked," I began, but a loud meow by my feet made me backtrack. "Oh, wait. He's over here."

Lauren's eyes widened in astonishment as Edward said, "I think he really likes Bella," he glanced down at the cat. "Boy, get your own woman!"

"Oh. Well…okay," Lauren glanced at the messy counter. "What are you guys doing?"

"Preparing lunch," I responded. "We – I'm still trying to teach Edward how to fold the pasta properly."

"Because it's so complicated!" Edward held up a finished piece. "Look at it, Laur."

"It doesn't look _that _hard."

"It isn't," I assured her. "Do you…want to try making one?"

To both Edward's and my surprise, Lauren said yes and tentatively came closer. She was a little wary at first, but after showing her the right folding technique, she became more comfortable and even joined Edward and I in our banter.

"I don't know what you find so complicated about this, Ed," she commented once she had finished another tortellini. "Bella's right – it's so simple."

"Yeah, yeah," Edward exaggerated a huff. We had reassigned him to filling duty at the other end of the island. "I don't really care as long as I get to eat later."

"We're not going to have enough to feed you if you keep eating the stuffing, though," I scolded him playfully. "Get your fingers out of the bowl."

"I can't help it! The urge to just devour everything's too strong. Besides, I'm a growing boy; I need to eat."

"If you keep it up, you're going to get as chubby as Mr. Jiggles," Lauren giggled.

And that was how the three of us continued to work – chatting, joking around, and generally having a pretty good time – until Lauren suddenly asked to speak to me in private.

"Go on," Edward encouraged when I turned to him in askance. "You guys go get some air. I can clean this up by myself."

I reluctantly followed Lauren to the patio while I tried to think of what was going on. Was she bringing me outside to yell at me? Threaten me? Kill me, perhaps?

"Look, I just wanted to apologize," she sighed, negating all my initial thoughts. That was the last thing I expected to hear.

"I…well, I'm aware that I was a bitch to you before, and I'm sorry about that. I mean, I have some problems and shit, but that doesn't mean you deserve to be treated like how I was treating you. And Jiggles likes you a whole lot, too, which is saying something since he hates practically everyone but he keeps going near you and – "

"Lauren," I reached for her wrist. "Slow down."

"I'm sorry," she breathed. "About the whole bitchiness thing. Hanging out with you today was…fun."

"It's okay," I smiled, feeling relief flood my chest. "I enjoyed spending some time with you, too."

Lauren smiled back before looking around awkwardly. "Um, so we should probably go help Edward out."

"We should," I agreed, and we shuffled back inside.

…

Nana Cullen's arrival dawned soon after we cleaned the kitchen. I have to admit, I was still a little nervous meeting Edward's grandma, but all the anxiety flew out the window when she showed up and greeted me with a warm hug.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Bella," she gushed. "I've prayed long and hard for this day to come, you know. I thought I was never going to get another granddaughter."

My cheeks reddened some more as she eyed me from head to toe. "Look at you. You're absolutely beautiful. You and Edward here will certainly give me some lovely great-grand babies."

"Oh. Um, thank you," I stuttered in reply. "That – "

"I don't think that's going to happen any time soon, Nana," Edward spoke up; the tips of his ears had turned red.

I thought the discussion on great-grandchildren ended there, but Nana Cullen apparently had other ideas. As we sat around the dining table, she began pushing the issue once again.

"This is delicious, Bella," she complimented after taking a bite. "Did you make this all yourself?"

"Lauren and Edward helped," I said. "But it was my recipe."

"That's splendid! That means you can feed Edward here when you two get married."

"You're getting a little ahead of yourself there, Ma," Carlisle told her.

"The kids have plenty of time left to start their own families," Esme added.

"Oh, pish. Time flies by fast, Esme," Nana Cullen wagged her finger. "One day you're still young and able, and in the next, you've turned into your Great Uncle Embry – nearly sixty years on this earth but no children to show for it! Now's the best time to have children if you ask me."

"Er, we're still a little too young to start a family, Nan," Rosalie shifted in her seat.

Emmett threw in his two cents. "Yeah. I mean, Edward, Bella, and I are still in school."

"Too young? How old are you, Emmett, dear?"

"Twenty-one."

"And you, Bella? Rosalie?"

"Twenty-three."

"I'm twenty," I answered.

"Now that's not 'too young' at all!" Nana Cullen exclaimed. "I was eighteen when I had little Carlisle here and nineteen when I gave birth to Margaret. You boys ought to follow your granddad's example and use it while you still can."

I wasn't sure what she meant by 'it', but whatever it was, I didn't dare ask.

…

"Well, today was…interesting," Edward grinned as we made our way upstairs hours later. Nana Cullen had just left after finally conceding that maybe demanding great-grandchildren now was a bit too early; that discussion was certainly equal parts awkward and entertaining. "See? I told you she would love you."

"She's pretty awesome, herself," I said. "That meeting definitely went better than expected."

"Speaking of better than expected, I see you and Lauren are getting along now," he remarked. "Did you guys talk it out?"

"She apologized. Spending some time with me today helped her accept me, I guess. Oh, and Jiggles played a role in it, too."

"Really?" his tone was amused as he opened his door. "Huh, I'll have to buy him a new toy, then."

I laughed. "I think he'll appreciate food more."

We entered his bedroom together and the first thing I noticed was his new bed sheets. "No more Pikachu?" I asked. The iconic yellow _Pokémon_ was replaced by a navy blue cover.

"Nope," Edward's arms slid around my waist. "I didn't think it was appropriate considering the things I want to do to you."

"Yeah? And what would those be?"

He promptly lifted me up and laid us down on the mattress in lieu of a response.

His lips met mine in a searing kiss, and just like that, everything else but him faded away. It didn't take long for my hands to start tugging his hair and for his to go straight to my ass.

"Edward?" I whispered when we pulled away for air.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Can we start...easing into it now?"

"Yes," he agreed without hesitation. "God, do you know how much I want you right now?"

"Show me."

Edward leaned down to suck my bottom lip again, and unlike the other times we made out, his tongue snaked out to meet mine. That delicious feeling plus that of his erection rubbing against my center made my underwear dampen.

_I need to feel skin, _I thought. _I need to feel him._

I clawed desperately at his shirt and my own until Edward finally got the hint that I wanted them off. It took only a few seconds for them to end up on the ground.

"Oh, god," I whimpered when his large hands covered my breasts.

"Do you like that?" he whispered. His thumbs brushed over my nipples, eliciting another moan from me.

"It feels good," I gasped. "Really, really good."

While he continued his ministrations, my hands made their way down his abs to the waistband of his pants. Edward let out a shuddered breath when my fingers tentatively grazed his erection.

"Bella," he swallowed. "Baby, not right now."

"Why?" the disappointment was apparent in my tone.

"Because if you touch me any more, I'm going to explode in my pants," his laugh was ragged. "Let me make you feel good first."

The rough hands caressing my chest left so they could pull down my pants and underwear together. I felt so exposed lying there naked for the first time in my life, but the way Edward looked at me made me feel beautiful.

"You are stunning," he murmured. "I can't believe you're all mine."

"I'm yours," I affirmed breathlessly as his hands rested on my parted thighs, slowly inching closer and closer to where I ached the most. "Please. Touch me."

He did as I asked and the euphoria that took over my body was indescribable. His fingers were gentle as they first stroked my center, but slowly, they increased in speed and pressure. I could feel myself losing all coherency as he continued to massage me.

"Eh-Edward," I gasped when his mouth went to my breast. The tongue circling my nipple matched the tempo of the finger circling my clit. "Please, I can't, I – I – "

"Let go, baby," Edward slowly slipped a finger inside of me. "Let me feel you. Come for me."

And I did.

The blinding pleasure that shot through my body made me stiffen before going completely limp in his arms. Sweet joebas, who knew it felt that good? I couldn't think of anything else but his name as he let me ride out the rest of my climax.

"That was amazing," I managed to say. My limbs felt like jelly.

"So are you," Edward replied hoarsely. "That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen," he shifted slightly above me and moaned when my thigh brushed his crotch.

_Now it's his turn. _Mustering all my strength, I pushed Edward down so I could straddle his legs.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

"I want to make you feel good, too," I worked swiftly to get his jeans and boxers off.

"Oh _shit,_" he hissed when I wrapped my hand around him. He was so…_big. _I wondered briefly how he was supposed to fit inside me, but I put it out of my mind for the time being. I wanted to concentrate on pleasuring him for now.

"Fuck. Shit, Bella," Edward thrust into my fist. I felt his erection grow even harder.

"Am I doing this right?"

"Tighter," he begged. I squeezed my fingers around him and his hips shot off the bed.

"Oh god…"

Much like my own earlier, Edward's body froze before he came all over my hand.

"You are incredible," he pulled me down to softly kiss my lips. Even with the stickiness between us, I allowed myself to relax against his body.

"I take it that was good, then?" I asked jokingly.

"You have no idea," he lovingly stroked my hair. "We probably need to get cleaned up now."

"I don't want to move," I grumbled. His chuckle made his chest vibrate under my head. "You don't have to," he said, his arms lifting me off the bed and carrying me to the en-suite bathroom.

As he set me on the cool granite counter, a thought suddenly entered my mind and I marveled silently to myself.

_So _that_ was the 'it' Nana Cullen was talking about._


	16. Chapter 16

I looked around the spacious hotel room desk as Edward led the bellboy in.

"Where do you want your bags, Mr. Cullen?" the bellboy inquired.

"The bedroom if it's not too much trouble," Edward replied with a smile. After the bellboy did just that and left, Edward hugged me from behind.

"So what do you think of the room?" he asked, swaying us slightly. "And before you even say it, no, this isn't too much at all. You know the price is irrelevant as long as we get the best and you like it. Do you?"

I bit my lip. I knew money was never an issue with Edward – his family's wealth plus the ridiculous amount he made off YouTube made that clear – but sometimes, he could go a little overboard. Now was a perfectly good example.

I mean, joebas crouch, what twenty-one year old would book the Four Seasons' Premier suite for three nights?

"I do," I told him finally; arguing with Edward when it came to money was always fruitless. "It's beautiful," and it truly was. Our suite featured a wide living space, what looked like multiple rooms, and a great view of the city.

"I'm glad you approve," Edward's chest vibrated behind me as he chuckled. "So, you wanna go for a tour?"

We went through all the rooms together, and it turns out, the suite was larger than I thought. Not only did it have two huge bathrooms, but it also had a walk-in closet, a butler's pantry, and three balconies.

The best part was definitely the bedroom, though. The king-sized canopy bed that sat in the middle of it was perfect for jumping around – a fact Edward and I discovered by testing it out.

"Maybe we shouldn't be messing up the sheets," I laughed breathlessly as I collapsed on the mattress. "These are probably made of Egyptian cotton or something."

Edward fell down next to me. His strong arms wrapped around my waist to keep me from bouncing off the bed. "I can think of a better way to mess up the sheets."

"Mm, I think I know where this is going," I murmured before kissing him. Ever since our first night _easing into things_, we couldn't keep our hands off each other. A hand on my thigh, fingers trailing down his chest…we drove each other crazy when we weren't alone. At least we managed to satisfy ourselves last night, and it looked like we were about to do it again.

"Bella," Edward groaned. His shirt was off already and his hands were tugging at my jeans. "Please, sweetheart, I need you."

"Yes," I whispered against his lips. "Ed – " I gasped. Edward was deadly fast when he was impatient, and if my lost pants and new position on top of him were any indication, I'd say he was pretty impatient now.

I hissed in pleasure as I pushed my aching center against him. Despite some articles of clothing remaining in place, it felt incredible.

"Edward," I whimpered when his hands cupped my breasts. I still had my bra on, but his fingers were still like an electric shock to my senses. "Edward, please. I-It feels too good."

Edward sat up so he could nip at my ear. "There's no such thing," he kissed his way from the spot behind my ear until he was near my collar bone. "You gonna come for me, beautiful?"

Instead of answering, I ground my hips harder and soon, I was flying with Edward following not too long after.

"Have I told you how amazing you are lately?" he asked as he snuggled behind me.

"Not lately," I chuckled. "Though you're pretty awesome yourself."

"Mm," he hummed in assent. "I wish I can just lay here like this with you forever."

"Me, too," I sighed and closed my eyes. I really wanted to take a nap then, but I knew we had other activities lined up for the rest of the day. "We should probably get cleaned up," I mumbled. "I promised Alice we would meet her at four."

Edward's warm breath blew on the back of my neck. "Yeah, I guess we should. Besides, these pants are getting uncomfortable."

I understood his pain. The damp underwear on were starting to get a little un-comfy as well.

…

"Bellsie!" Alice's distinct voice rose above all the others' in the coffee shop. "Bellsie, over here!"

"Alice," I greeted warmly as I hugged her. "Gosh, it feels like a lifetime since I last saw you. You too, Jasper."

"I know, right?" Alice pulled away so she could embrace Edward as Jasper replied, "It's certainly been a while, hasn't it?"

"Go ahead and sit," Alice gestured to the chairs. "We have a ton to talk about."

For the next hour or so, the four of us got our stomachs full as we talked about our travels. Alice and Jasper spent the first days of spring break visiting each other's families, too, though with Alice's parents still abroad, more time was spent in Texas than Forks. That meant Alice got very acquainted with Jasper's large family.

"His brothers are insane," she informed us mid-chew of her Danish. "I have no idea how the hell his mom raised seven boys by herself, but let me tell ya. I have nothing but respect for that woman."

"They weren't _that_ bad," Jasper laughed. "I think it's cute David has a crush on you. He's my youngest brother," he told Edward and me. "Taylor, on the other hand…"

"Yeah. Taylor," Alice shuddered. "Apparently, Jasper's ten-year-old brother thought rummaging through my underwear would be the _perfect _way to let me know he likes me."

"Hey, at least no one threatened you. Your uncle can be scary," Jasper shook his head. "Er, no offense, Bella."

"None taken," I replied amusedly. It figured my dad would pull the scary cop routine with Jasper, too; he loved Alice like his own daughter.

"Did he threaten you, Ed? He probably did, didn't he? If he was that protective over his niece, he must be worse over his daughter."

Edward cleared his throat. "He had some words for me," his eyes cut to me for a second. "But it's call good. I call him Charlie now."

I smiled at the memory of Dad finally showing his approval of Edward. It made me happy that the two men I love the most could get along swimmingly.

I froze at my own thoughts. _The men I love the most? I love Edward?_

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed true. Everything about Edward mesmerized me – his kindness, his humor, his appearance…the way he would hold me and love me with his body…even just the way he smiled at me.

My heart fluttered every time he was near, and just the mere idea of being away from him made me feel awful.

_So does all of that mean that you're in love with him?_

The answer came to me as a warm fuzzy feeling began building in my chest.

_I do. I love Edward._

I probably looked like an idiot as I stared at him, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Now that I knew how I truly felt, I couldn't look away and I didn't want to. Seeing his warm smile and animated gestures made heart beat loud and strong, and I allowed myself to say it over and over again.

_I love him. I love him. I love him._

"…made the whole conversation about us giving her great grand babies," Edward did a brief face palm. "Don't get me wrong, I love my grandma, but old ladies, man. They must lose they filter once they hit the seventy mark. I'm just glad Bella didn't run away screaming," he laughed and turned to me, his expression going from amused to concerned in a millisecond. "Hey. You okay?"

"Hm?" I blinked rapidly. "I…I'm fine." _I love you._

"Your cheeks are bright red," he placed a cool hand against my skin lovingly. "Are you too hot?"

"No," I nuzzled his palm. Apparently, my mental declaration of love made me crave some PDA. "I'm perfect," and so was he.

"She must be tired," Alice said. "I mean, you guys did just arrive a few hours ago."

"Yeah, she must be," Edward murmured. He pushed a lock of hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead. "Do you want to go back to the hotel, sweetheart?"

I shook my head. "I'm okay. Really," I smiled brightly at him. "The heat isn't bothering me. And aren't we supposed to head to the charity venue today?"

"We don't have to. Your health's more important than the orientation."

"I want to go," I insisted.

"Alright," Edward warily agreed. "But if you don't feel well, tell me right away, okay?"

"I will," I promised. I would do anything for him.

…

Like VidCon, The Hyatt Regency was the chosen location for YouTube's first annual charity gathering. Though the event wasn't until tomorrow, all thirty participating YouTubers were required to come a day early to be briefed on the programme, schedule, and all other miscellaneous instructions.

Marian, the event coordinator, led Edward, Alice, and me to a room where all the other YouTubers were when we arrived. I was a little nervous; I haven't really met anyone yet, and I feared that I might make a fool of myself.

"It's all going to be fine," Edward reassured me as he tugged on my hand. Alice had already taken off to see her beauty guru friends. "They're all going to love you."

And there was that word again. I swear, ever since my grand revelation in the coffee shop earlier, all I could hear was 'love'. Alice _loving _a shop we passed by, Edward _loving _the luxury car the Four Seasons lent us, Jasper _loving _the LA museums so far. I almost shouted 'I GET IT' at the heavens, but thankfully, I had some self-control left.

It was a good thing, too, since we were quickly approaching a group of familiar-looking dudes.

"Guys, this is Bella, my girlfriend," Edward introduced my proudly to them. "Bella, these are Liam, and Riley, the idiots better known as Smash, and these are Stefan and Quil."

"It's nice to meet all of you," I told them sincerely as I shook hands with them. "It's kinda surreal to be seeing you in person and not through a computer screen."

"You, too," Liam sidled next to me, flipping his signature bowl cut in an attempt to look suave. "Your videos don't do you justice, m'lady. You're a lot prettier in real life."

"Um, thank you," I blushed lightly.

"Being as smooth as a gravel path there, Liam," Edward chuckled.

"Hey, girls dig the hair," Liam pointed to his head; I don't think he's changed it for the entire time I've been subscribed to Smash. "Why do you think a shit load of celebrities are stealing it? Zac Efron, Justin Bieber, the Beatles. They know the secret."

"Actually, I think Stefan and Quil one up you on that," Riley pointed to them. "The fringes are on point."

"Nah, mate. I'm pretty sure people come to the channel for the accent," Quil laughed. "But it's Stefan's existential crisis and my general awkwardness that make them stay."

As the six of us continued to chat, the more at ease I felt hanging out with Edward's friends. The slightly star-struck feeling that was present before slowly disappeared, and soon, I felt more confident.

"So, Bella," Quil turned to me, my name coming out more like 'Beller' in his British accent. "What're you studying at uni? You _are_ in uni, right?"

"Yeah, I am," I nodded. "And I'm studying Fine Arts. Only a year more and I'll finally get to graduate."

"Good for you," Liam raised his cup. "Three of us here dropped out of college after YouTube became a full-fledged career."

"Hence the existential crisis," Stefan gestured to himself.

"It's just hard to juggle college work with all the videos you want to put out," Riley said. "I don't know how the hell you still do it, Edward."

"It's a lot of sacrifice, but I'm happy to do it," Edward told him. "I mean, I'm really interested in what I'm studying, but at the same time, YouTube means a lot to me," he tangled our fingers together. "So it just has to be a balancing act, I suppose."

"And that is why I'm happy university's finished," Quil smiled.

"I, for one, just couldn't take all those exams anymore," Liam added. "Seriously. It was bad enough in high school."

"The only quizzes I seem to take these days are those weird ones from the Internet," Stefan said. "Have you guys seen that YouTube boyfriend one?"

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me as memories of that ridiculous quiz returned. Edward understood what got me so amused since he shot Stefan a look.

"What?" Stefan looked between us. "Do I have crisps all over my face or something?"

"Sorry," I let out one last giggle. "Edward's being a bit possessive at the moment because I took the quiz a few days ago."

"And you didn't get Edward," Riley concurred. "Then who'd you – _oh,_" he laughed as well. "Dude, _he's _the YouTube boyfriend?"

"You better watch your step, man," Liam said. "You'll have thirty-five million people on your ass if you steal Bella away."

"Edward, You know I would never," Stefan laughed nervously. "I ship you two so hard FedEx would want to hire me. Plus, we all know I'm not as fabulous as Edward is."

"Damn straight," Edward chortled in a jokingly serious tone. His arm wrapped around me. "You know you can't compete with this hotness."

"He does pull off a sparkly princess crown better," I nodded, and we all chuckled in agreement.

…

The rest of the night went fairly quickly as Marian showed up not long for the briefing. A lot of changes were made from the original schedule they sent us, but I wasn't worried about forgetting where to go and what not.

What _did _worry me, however, was how I was supposed to tell Edward I love him.

My mind started working overtime as we drove back to our hotel. There were just too many possibilities. Do I write it down? Build up to it first? Should I wait?

In the end, I just gathered all my courage and decided to wing it.

"Edward?" I made myself speak once we reached our room. "Edward, I have to tell you something."

"What is it, sweetheart?" he replied. His eyes were closed as he yawned and stretched.

"I…" I started fiddling with my fingers. "It's just…"

"Just what?" Edward's hands took mine. "Are you feeling sick?"

_Not in that way. _"No, that's not it. I just have something…very, very important to tell you."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," he was massaging my palms now. "Is it something bad?"

"Quite the opposite," I gave him a small smile. "Edward, I…"

_Come on Bella, just spit it out!_

"I love you."

**I felt like making another screenshot. This time, it's Renee's Twitter account…or at least a part of it. The link to it is in my profile if you're interested.**


	17. Chapter 17

Edward's eyes grew to the size of saucers open and his jaw dropped; if he was feeling sleepy before, he definitely wasn't drowsy now.

In a move so quick I barely had time to register it, he hugged me to his chest and buried his face in my hair. He wasn't saying anything, though, and I found myself beginning to backtrack.

"It's okay if you can't say it back yet," I mumbled. "I just wanted to let you know – "

"I love you, too," Edward cut me off with a chuckle. Like our first official day as boyfriend and girlfriend all those months ago, his nose ran down my temple until he could place a kiss on my lips. "Of course I'm ready to say it back."

I felt lighter than air as I let out a giddy laugh. "I'm sorry, I just thought…I mean, you were being really quiet and I thought I freaked you out or something."

He chuckled with me before saying, "That would be the last thing to freak me out. Really, though, Bella. Did you, for even just a second, believe that I don't love you?" his words shocked me. I realized then that it never occurred to my over-active brain that Edward might not reciprocate my feelings.

_That's a first_, I thought._ His actions speak louder than any pessimistic thoughts, I guess._

Edward grinned triumphantly at my head shake. "See? I love you so much, sweetheart. I was just shocked that you would pick now of all times to say it. I thought you were going to tell me you were still hungry after you tore dinner up."

"We ate at an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet. I scarfed down so much sashimi I don't even know how I walked to the car," I told him. "Although needing food _is _an extremely important piece of information..."

"You're definitely one of a kind, Bella Swan," Edward shook his head, a beautiful smile gracing his face. "I love you."

He leaned down and I tilted my head up at the same time, making our lips meet in another kiss. It didn't take long for the fire that constantly burned between us to intensify, and soon, we were tangled in bed in nothing but our underwear.

"God, you're amazing," Edward was lying between my parted legs, his erection grinding against me harder and harder. "I can't wait to…to…"

"To what?"

"To…" he sighed. "To make love to you."

I'd be lying if I said sex hadn't occurred to me. With our state of undress and our declarations earlier, it was difficult _not _to think about it. And it just felt…right to be with him that way – almost like the act would cement our words further.

I couldn't help the twinge of nervousness in my stomach, though. As much as I wanted to be one with Edward, I've never had sex before. What if I did something wrong?

_Maybe I should've watched porn or something to educate myself._

Edward's warm hand cupping my cheek brought me back to the present.

"Hey," he whispered. "I didn't mean for that to…we don't have to do anything tonight."

He must have misconstrued my silence. "I _do _want you, Edward. And…I'm ready," I stared into his eyes so he could see that I was serious. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little nervous."

"Sweetheart, that's the last thing you should worry over," he assured me. "But are you sure? You know I'm willing to wait."

"I am," I told him with conviction. "Edward, please. Make me yours," I fisted his hair and pulled me down so I could kiss him again. Our tongues met, the rest of our clothes came off, and when a long finger entered me, a loud mewl escaped my throat.

"Edward," I moaned; I was so aroused that it took no time at all for me to reach my climax. "Edward, I-I want you."

"Wait," he panted. "The...the condom."

I nodded and he reached one hand out to rummage through his pants. Before long, his body covered mine again, but this time, I could feel his latex-covered member rubbing against my wetness.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Edward swallowed. "I love you."

I whispered I love him too, and with that, he entered me.

It didn't feel painful at first – if anything, it just felt a little weird having something so huge inside of me. I didn't mind, though. The look of pure ecstasy on Edward's face made it worth it. When he slowly began to go deeper, however…that was when it started to _really_ hurt.

"Wait," I squeezed my eyes shut. "Edward, wait. Stop, stop!"

He froze immediately. "What is it? Am I – does it hurt?"

I simply shook my head yes. "Please. C-Can we…can we pause for a minute?"

With great care, Edward pulled out of me and I released a breath of relief.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I knew I was bound to mess something up.

"Don't be," Edward gathered me in his arms. "If there's anyone who should be apologizing, it should be me. Was it too painful?"

"Not so much anymore," I replied honestly. My body was already relaxed. "I think I was just…shocked. I wasn't expecting it to feel that way. We can try again."

"Are you sure?" Edward asked incredulously. "Don't worry about me, Bella. You're not obligated to do anything for me."

I got on my knees and hugged his neck. "I want to," I murmured in his ear. "I love you."

He let out a long exhale. "I love you, too. I promise I'll go slower."

True to his word, Edward was even more careful as he slid his hard member into my folds for the second time around. His thumb gently circled my clit as he did, and that helped ease the inevitable pain some; it wasn't as bad as the first time, at least.

"Bella," he groaned. I could tell he was trying very, very hard to remain still. "Is this okay?"

"It's fine," I kissed his temple. "Are you, uh, all the way in?"

"Almost," he replied. "I…fuck, you feel so good, sweetheart. Do you want me to…keep going?"

At my affirmative response, Edward continued to push forward until he was fully sheathed inside me.

Though he began with shallow thrusts at first – probably to get me used to his size – his movements picked up speed and more curses flew out of his mouth after a while. That didn't surprise me at all, but what did was the sudden jolt of pleasure I felt when he hit a certain spot inside me again and again and again…

My second climax for the night hit me unexpectedly. My back arched, my fingers dug into Edward's back, and my toes curled from the intensity of it. Edward's body seized and after a long groan, he collapsed on top of me.

"I love you," I whispered in the stillness that ensued. "Thank you."

"You are my life now, Isabella," he answered with burning sincerity.

We fell asleep a few moments later out of the sheer exhaustion of the day, both the physical and emotional. It was the best sleep of my life, because despite the awkward beginning, Edward was truly mine as I was his now and nothing could ever make me let go.

…

Despite the early hour, I woke up with a massive grin on my face the next day. Edward had the same smile on his, and while people must have thought we looked insane, we didn't care. The happiness we felt was worth the judgement.

Our expressions blended in with the crowd a bit more when the opening program began. The first YouTube Funny for Money Campaign was hosted by Tyler Crowley and Colleen Hunter in her Victoria Sings persona, which meant laughs and hilarity were a sure thing from their very first line.

The fun continued with the individual meet and greets where we could speak to our viewers face-to-face. Edward and I were given one of the larger conference halls, and I was amazed to see the long, winding line that instantly filled it.

"That's a lot of people," Edward commented. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I replied. "I'm afraid I'll say something weird, but that's just me on a daily basis, I think."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll both say something weird at some point," Edward laughed. "How're you doing physically? You didn't say anything this morning but, are you…_sore_? By the looks of it, we're going to be standing for a few hours at least and I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I'm a little sore," I admitted, shifting slightly on my feet. "But it's nothing too painful. The, ah, hot shower we took helped some."

"That's good," he smirked. "But if you need to sit down or something, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?"

"Alright," I squeezed his hand just as one of the crew members unclipped the rope, signalling that it was time to start. "Let's do this."

Since it was my first time participating in this kind of event, I wasn't sure what to expect from the fans who came to say hi. I did figure that they came for Edward though, so I was surprised that a lot of them looked equally excited to see me.

"Omigod, hi!" a short girl came hurtling straight for me that I almost lost my balance when we collided. "I love you so much! You guys are, like, my heroes."

"Thank you," I chuckled breathlessly as she moved on to Edward. "What's your name?"

"Siobhan," she said happily. "I've actually been subscribed to both of you when you were still starting out, so when I found out you guys were together, I literally screamed. It's like I died and went to OTP heaven."

"Really? Well, thanks so much for the support," Edward told her sincerely. "Do you want have us sign anything?"

"Yes! Omigod, I almost forgot," Siobhan opened the notebook she was carrying. "Can you sign this, please? I drew it myself, and I know I'm not as good as you are, Bella, but I hope you like it. I used your last post on DeviantArt as a basis."

"It looks great," I said with a warm smile. Once our signatures were down, the official photographer took his position and Siobhan looked behind her tentatively.

"Um, I know there's this rule that only one person can talk to you guys at a time, but can me and my friends take the picture together? They're next in line," she pointed to a gaggle of girls. "I promise we won't cause a ruckus."

"Er," Edward glanced at the nearby security team before turning back to Siobhan. "I don't think we can do that. It would be unfair to everyone else if we allow a group shot for you and your friends."

Disappointment crossed Siobhan's face. "Oh. Well, they're up next, anyway."

We took the picture and after one more round of hugs, Siobhan left to give way to her equally as bubbly friends. Katie complimented our outfits, Zafrina proudly said that she's seen all our videos, and Chelsea even gave me an adorable hamburger plushie.

The rest of the meet and greets went just great, and after the hour and a half finished, Edward and I went our separate ways. He had a live show with Liam and Riley to do while I was slated to go head-to-head against the guys of Epic Grub Time in a mystery pantry challenge.

At the end of the day, I was exhausted but very happy (especially since Epic Grub Time conceded defeat even though they said I needed more bacon). A lot of profit was raised for organizations like Charity: Water, WWF, and Livestrong, plus, I made a ton of new YouTube friends as well.

I'll admit, I was a little worried before that the whole community wouldn't accept me, but as we all sat around the dinner table after the event was over, that worry disappeared like a puff of smoke.

"He did not," Tyler Crowley held his hands to his mouth in shock. "Are you serious? He accidentally locked himself in the bathroom?"

"Unfortunately," I chuckled. "No matter what he did, the door wouldn't budge, so he had to call me for help."

"Well, it was either that or yell for help," Edward said. "That would've been more embarrassing."

"So what happened?" Gianna Hart asked.

"I had to awkwardly ask the manager to force the rest room door open," I shook my head at the memory. "She looked at me like I was deranged."

"We're never going back that Starbucks anyway," Edward waved his hand. "The toilet was too creepy."

"Speaking of toilets, I really need to use one," I announced, garnering giggles around the table.

"While you're out there, can you see if Stefan and Quil are anywhere around?" Liam called. "They've been gone for like, fifteen minutes now."

"Well, if they're not back in the next five minutes, I'm taking Quil's fries," Gianna reached for the plate.

"Will do," I gave a thumbs up before heading to the ladies' room. After relieving myself, I was about to head out of my stall when I heard the door burst open. The voices that followed sounded awfully familiar, and I recognized them as Katie's and Zafrina's.

_I should go say hi,_ I thought, but their words made me freeze.

"I don't know why people even like her," Zafrina scoffed. "I mean, she's not pretty. And everyone knows she's only with Edward to boost her own channel."

"And his money. I hear he makes six figures a year," Katie added. "Ugh, what _I _can't believe is that the event organizers even let her join today. She's clearly not famous enough, and her videos aren't all that great either. Why didn't they get another YouTuber to fill her slot? Like…I dunno, Tanya?"

"She probably used Alice's or Edward's pull or something," Zafrina sighed. "Well, whatever. Guess we'll just have to crop her out of our pictures. What a waste of time. Anyway, enough about that gold-digger. Siobhan just texted that she saw some really hot guys at the bar."

The two of them continued to yammer away as they left the room. I, on the other hand, waited a long time before stepping out. I wanted to make sure they were far away, but mostly, I felt too shocked to walk properly.

Sinking down on the floor outside, I tugged at my hair. Sure, I've seen comments like that before in my videos, but I could never take them seriously. Most of them were obviously trolls, and there were a lot more positive words than negative ones.

Hearing a mean comment in real life, however, was a completely different playing field.

I mean, I understood, to some extent. My views and subscriber count did grow significantly thanks to Edward, but I've honestly never paid any attention to that. YouTube was just a hobby for me – something fun I did to relieve stress and maybe earn some pocket change. I didn't join to gold-dig or to ride the coat tails of my boyfriend and cousin.

But was that how people really thought of me? And to think those girls were so nice when I first met them. Did that mean all the other nice people were saying shit behind my back, too?

As I tried to process what was going on in my head, I heard another set of voices travel closer to me.

"Nice going, Quil. I think we passed this bloody hallway fifteen times already!"

"I did orienteering at school, alright. I'm the master of directions."

"We're never going to find our way back now," Stefan and Quil entered my line of vision. "I just needed a wee, for cripes' sake. How can we forget the way after visiting the fucking loo?"

"Alright, calm down. I'm sure they'll have left our food alone – Bella?" Quil stared at me quizzically.

"Hey," my voice croaked; I had to clear it before speaking again. "Hi."

"Hello," Quil replied carefully. "You alright?"

"Why're you sat on the floor?" Stefan asked. "Did you twist your ankle?"

"No, I was just…" I waved my hand. "Hanging out. I'm not ready to head back yet."

"Erm, are you sure?" Quil's eyes narrowed slightly. "You look a bit shaken up. Did something happen?"

Maybe it was because Stefan and Quil were such a nice change to the harshness I experienced earlier, but for whatever reason, the truth came tumbling out of my mouth in an instant.

"Jesus Christ," Stefan held a hand to his temple before sitting next to me on the dirty carpet. "First of all, these events are voluntary. People really need to get educated before they start insulting. And second, I'm sorry you had to hear that in person, Bella. It's bad enough reading comments like that on the Internet, but to hear actual people say it…"

"That's what I was thinking, too," I replied softly. "I guess I just have to grow a thicker skin."

"You do know what they said isn't true, though, right?" Quil mimicked Stefan's action at my unoccupied side. "That might be those girls' honest opinion, but you have to know that it isn't the truth. I mean, _we _know it isn't."

"Yeah. Gold-digger would be the last thing I'd associate you with," Stefan nodded. "Magical cooking lady, yes, but not gold-digger. Edward looks happier than we've ever seen him since you got together."

"And don't worry, I'm going to make a strongly-worded video about this once we're back at the UK," Quil patted my knee. "And maybe start a new hashtag. Hashtag Nicer…IRL? I'll work on it, I promise."

I cracked a genuine smile. "Thank you."

"We YouTubers stick together," Stefan smiled back as he stood. "Now what do you say we head back to dinner? I'm worried about what might've happened do to my burger."

"Okay," I chuckled, taking the hand he offered. "By the way, you guys do realize that there are rest rooms here?" I pointed to the doors. "I think you two were a little lost before you found me."

Stefan stared at me for a few seconds before glaring at Quil. "Are you fucking kidding me?! You told me the nearest toilet was two stories up!"

"I'm sorry, I thought they were!" Quil held his hands up. "Hey, at least you got to exercise. You keep telling people you're gonna do it year after year, but you never do, you lazy oaf."

"I bought running shoes last Christmas!"

I chuckled as Stefan and Quil continued to banter, never happier to be part of a community that could lift my spirits so easily.


	18. Chapter 18

Stefan, Quil, and I managed to return to the restaurant without any problems. I was feeling a lot better about the whole restroom debacle, but a part of me still kept thinking about what I heard.

_Just deal with it later, _I told myself as our lively table came into view.

"Bella!" Alice was the first one to spot me. "There you are. We thought you ended up like Edward in a stall or something."

"Nah, I would've called to embarrass him if that happened," I chuckled. "I did find these two at least," I nodded at Stefan and Quil.

"We were about to send a search party out for you," Edward, ever the gentleman, helped me to my seat while Stefan began relaying what happened to them. "Are you okay?"

_Why must he be so perceptive?_ "I'm alright," I somewhat lied. "Why would you think anything's wrong?"

"Just…I dunno," Edward smiled softly as he reached for my hand. "I'm probably just looking into things too much."

"Probably," I forced a grin. I wanted to tell him about what happened in the restroom, but I didn't want dinner to be tainted with negativity.

It wasn't, fortunately, thanks to the good company and the entertaining stories passed around. The niggling feeling I had wouldn't leave completely, but I did feel a bit lighter as I chatted with everyone.

"…and she actually got lipstick on my ear," Alice pointed to her right lobe. She was talking about the make-up challenge she did earlier with her beauty guru friend Carmen. "Look at it! I haven't gotten all of the red out yet."

"Maybe you can start a new trend. Ear tints 2015," Quil suggested as Carmen laughed.

"That's not such a bad idea, actually," she said. "And hey, at least I did better than Jasper."

"I actually like what he did," Tyler spoke. "It was avant-garde and absolutely _slayed_, girl. I wouldn't mind him doing my make-up."

"You just want an excuse for Jasper to touch you," Gianna elbowed him playfully. "You're such a whore."

"Can't deny that, but can you blame me? The boy is fine," Tyler sighed. "Isn't he going to join us, by the way?"

"Oh, yeah," I said. Though he initially planned on attending today's festivities, Jasper bowed out to claim the History of Los Angeles promo a local tour company offered. "It's nearly seven. Shouldn't the tour be over by now?"

"Apparently not," Alice rolled her eyes as she glanced at her phone. "He texted a while ago that he might not show up because they 'extended.'"

"At least he's spending time doing something he's passionate about," Carmen shrugged. "Hm, I just thought of something. What jobs can you get when you study History?"

"You know, I'm not entirely sure, but Jasper wants to teach," Alice answered as her eyes twinkled. "He'd make a pretty hot professor."

"Amen to that," Tyler raised his glass as everyone laughed.

"Oh, hey, speaking of jobs," Gianna sat up in her seat. "My cousin Tim – you know, the one who works at Nintendo – just told me you got offered a job at the company. Congrats, man! That's so cool."

Edward and I both froze as congratulatory remarks erupted around the table. His eyes widened and immediately turned to me, but I was too surprised to speak.

_He got a job? That's…wow._

Aside from the shock, my initial reaction was joy. Nintendo was one of the most successful game publishers in the world, and Edward's ultimate dream was to be able to create a game with companies like it. He loved _Zelda_,_ Mario, _and _Pokémon _as well,so I knew he would have a great time there.

As happy as I was for him though, I did feel confused. Being offered a job at Nintendo was huge news, but never once did he mention anything like that to me in the past. Questions like 'when did that happen' and 'how will that work' flew into my head, but one stood out like a sore thumb.

Why didn't he tell me?

"…calls for a drink!" the tail end of Riley's loud declaration snapped me back to the present. "We should head over to the bar and celebrate."

Edward looked from me to the table. "It's not worth celebrating, really. They knew I was working on my own video game, so they just asked if I wanted to get a feel of how it is to create one with a large game publisher. It's not an actual permanent position."

Liam scoffed. "'Not worth celebrating?' Dude, it's _Nintendo. _That's pretty fucking amazing."

"It's every fanboy's dream," Stefan agreed. "Though if I were you, I'd spend more time playing than actually doing anything productive."

The table continued to discuss how awesome and great the news was, but I just couldn't bring myself to join. Not with the bothersome feeling I had earlier worsening. Luckily, nobody seemed to notice my mood…except for Edward.

Uncharacteristically, his hand hesitated before reaching for mine. "Bella?" he murmured. "We need to talk."

That we did.

…

The car ride back to the hotel was filled with tense silence. I didn't know what was going on in Edward's head, but I knew it was utter chaos in mine; my thoughts were all over the place and I didn't know what to say.

It didn't matter, though, because when we reached our room, Edward took the floor.

He didn't say anything at first, choosing to pace as his hands went to his hair. I waited patiently on one of the plush sofas until finally, he sat next to me.

"Bella," he sighed. "Before I say anything else, I just want to tell you I love you and I'm sorry."

Taking a deep breath, I angled my body so I could face him better. "I just don't understand, Edward. Why didn't you just tell me? You were offered a place in Nintendo – that's huge!"

"I know. It was stupid of me to keep it from you, but I figured I there was no point in telling you. Hell, I've told no one."

"Why?"

"I just…I…I don't…"

"You don't what?"

"I don't plan to take it."

I blinked quickly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, working there isn't in my future."

"What? Why?" I practically shouted. "I can't even find adjectives to describe how big a deal this opportunity this is for you. You should take it. You know I'll support you – "

"Because I don't want to leave you, okay?!" Edward's sudden roar stopped me from continuing. He began pacing again as I sat where I was in shock.

"You won't leave me," I kept my tone soft and comforting even though I was confused as to what he meant.

"Yes, I will," he vehemently stated with his back still to me. He abruptly turned around and I saw fear in his angry eyes.

"Bella, you still have to stay in New York next semester. If I take the offer, I'll have to stay be in Washington for four months," he pull his hair. "I know this is going to sound pathetic, but I can't leave you for that long."

The thought of him not physically being with me for what seemed like forever didn't sound appealing to me either. However I knew I had to talk some sense into him. I slowly approached his anxious form and placed my hands at either side of his face.

"I don't want to be away from you either, Edward but this is part of your dream. You know deep inside that taking the offer's what's best for you."

"What about what's best for us?" he countered. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't. You won't lose me," I choked as I wrapped my arms around his neck. His went to my waist and held me tighter than ever before.

We stayed in each other's embrace for a moment, letting the high tension simmer down until it was nothing but a dull presence.

"Let's…Let's think rationally for a second," I said eventually. Tugging at Edward's hands, I led him to the sofa so we could sit. "If you aren't required to go to Washington, if you're allowed to stay in New York with me, would you like to work with the company?"

"Yes," Edward answered immediately. "I told you, I just don't want us to be apart for that long."

"Then please don't let me get in the way of you reaching for your dreams," I pleaded. "It's just four months. And there are ways to keep in touch while you're gone."

"Long distance relationships are difficult, Bella. I see every single day how much Emmett and Rosalie struggle with it, and I don't want us to go through the same pain."

"But their relationship is still strong, isn't it? Their love for each other hasn't diminished with time or space," I said, then a thought came to me. "Wait. I-Is that what you're really afraid of? That if you leave, we won't love each other anymore?"

"No!" Edward grabbed my hands. "I don't doubt your love for me, and I'm perfectly certain of what I feel for you."

"Then have faith in us," I said, infusing my tone with as much conviction as I could. "We're strong enough for this. Go for it, Edward. I'll support whatever decision you'll make, but I know you'll regret it if you don't go. It's only for a short period of time, and I'll visit you as much as I can."

Silence instead of the rebuttal I was expecting reached my ears. As I watched Edward's face, I could tell he was turning my words over and over again in his mind, and I prayed that he would consider everything I told him.

"You're right," Edward murmured. Smiling slightly, he pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry for being so insecure."

"I understand," I replied honestly; I'd be lying if I didn't have my own uncertainties. "We just have to have faith."

"I realize that now," he looked up and his sad eyes met mine. "I'll miss you."

"Don't think about it yet," I hushed him. "It won't be for a while, right? You said you won't leave until next semester."

Edward nodded. "We still have time."

"Plenty," I agreed. "Which means I can still come over your place unexpectedly and leech off your fast Wi-Fi connection."

A loud laugh burst from Edward's chest, easily making the atmosphere lighter than how it was ten minutes ago. "You can come over and download ridiculously large files as often as you like," he hugged me close and pecked my lips. "I love you so much, Bella. Thank you."

"I love you, too."

We were going to make it. I was sure of it.

…

"Come on, hurry!"

"Edward, slow down," I laughed in whisper. It was three AM and despite having made love minutes ago, both of us couldn't sleep. Edward's idea of combatting the insomnia was to head to a location in the hotel still unknown to me. "Where are we even going?"

"You'll see," he answered, and I couldn't help but smile at his exuberance; it was a nice change from the emotional state he was in earlier.

"You get a ton of weird ideas when you can't sleep," I noted as I tried to keep up with his long legs.

We only stopped running when we reached a door leading to a set of stairs. I looked at Edward curiously when he gestured for me to start climbing, but with a slight shrug, I followed his instruction. I didn't regret doing so, because what I saw at the top took my breath away.

"Wow," I marvelled as I stared at the Los Angeles skyline. I turned to see Edward smiling at me. "Are you sure we're allowed up here?"

"The roof is technically a public place," he said. "Actually, I'm not sure about this helipad we're on, but the door was unlocked."

I laughed and shook my head.

"What do you think of the view?"

"It's beautiful," I said. Even with so much lights still on, I felt peaceful as I stared at the massive skyscrapers and buildings. "Thank you for bringing me up here."

"Well, it isn't without purpose," Edward's arms wrapped around me from behind. "Are you cold?"

I snuggled further into his embrace. "It's a little chilly, but I'm happy where I am."

"Good. That's good," he paused to take a deep breath. "Bella, I wanted to tell you something."

_That sounded serious. _"What is it?" I turned in his arms so I could look at him.

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

Again, I did as I was told. Once all I could see was darkness, I felt Edward stroke my hands so lightly that I gasped in surprise when I felt cold metal touch my skin. I immediately opened my eyes to see a gorgeous ring on my finger.

_I-Is this what I think it is?_ "Edward…"

"I love you," Edward blurted suddenly. "Sweetheart, I know we've only been together a few months, but this feels right to me. You can't imagine how thankful I am to have met someone as wonderful, as gorgeous, as amazing, as – "

"Edward – "

" – beautiful as you are. And I know you might be thinking that we're moving too fast, but – "

"Edward!" I covered his mouth to stop his rambling. I had to giggle at how adorable he was being, though. "Slow down."

"Sorry," he mumbled against my palm.

I slowly brought my hand down and stared at the ring again. "Edward, I might be being too assuming here but…is this your way of asking me to…marry you?"

"Yes," he answered. "I love you, Bella. I meant what I said in the video I made all those months ago. You're it for me."

"Are you doing this because you'll be leaving soon?"

"No, I've been thinking of doing this for a while now," he admitted. "I think I've loved you from the moment I saw you, I just didn't want to freak you out by moving too quickly. When Nana Cullen gave me her ring in Chicago, I knew in my heart I had to ask you soon. Now just seems like the…perfect time."

"It is perfect," I told him. "And I think 'quick' is our motto, anyway. You asked me to be your girlfriend days after we met, after all."

"You have a point there," he chuckled then began fidgeting. "So…you're still kinda leaving me hanging here."

"Hm?"

Edward laughed again. "I guess I haven't technically asked you," he dropped to one knee and stroked the ring on my finger. "Isabella Swan, I just wanted to know if, someday, you would be my wife. We don't have to get married right away – I know we still have – "

I stopped his rambling this time by giving him the answer I didn't even have to think about.

"Yes, Edward. Of course I'll marry you someday."


	19. Chapter 19

"Bella, hold still," Alice chastised. "You're gonna make the braid crooked."

"Sorry," I muttered. I tried to keep my head as steady as possible while looking at my laptop screen at the same time.

It's not like I had anything absolutely urgent to do, but I had about a hundred unread e-mails to hack through. A percentage of them were from YouTube and the university, but a lot were related to my recent engagement.

Edward and I didn't exactly decide not to tell our viewers of the huge news just yet, but we knew we had to let the most important people in our lives know. Thankfully, their responses were great if our Skype call from yesterday was any indication.

Esme and Carlisle gave their sincere congratulations with an offer to use their huge backyard for a wedding venue if we wanted. Rosalie cheered and volunteered to help me plan the event as well. As for Lauren, she teased us for being impatient, but seemed genuinely happy to have me become part of the family. That was a sigh of relief if I ever saw one.

Then there was Nana Cullen's reaction.

She actually had me worried for a minute because as soon as Edward said he gave the ring and I said yes, she stopped moving. Before I could ask if she was okay, she was up from her chair, dancing, and shouting 'hallelujah!' at the top of her lungs.

Her exuberance made a lot more sense after she asked when we planned on having kids.

Alice and Emmett actually had similar reactions when we told them the good news. Both of them asked to see the ring before firing their ideas one after the other. For Alice, those ideas were for the wedding, and for Emmett, the bachelor party.

All in all, I'd say everyone was happy about Edward and me getting engaged. No one seriously mentioned us rushing or moving too quickly, but then again, I haven't had the chance to speak to my parents yet.

Both of them were busy when we tried calling, so we just settled to have a Skype session tonight. I guess I would just have to wait until then to know what they'll say.

"That's a pretty gown," Alice's comment made me focus back on my laptop. I had opened the link to a wedding gown site Rosalie had sent, and a beautiful, flowy show piece was displayed on the home page.

"It is," I agreed, my eyes scanning the rest of the page. "And really _expensive. _Holy shit, it's worth the same as a small house!"

With strands of my hair still in her hands, Alice leaned down to see. "Bella, that's a perfectly acceptable price. I mean, it's Carolina Herrera. Hell, I'm surprised it isn't worth _more._"

"Uh-huh," I nodded absently as I just clicked away. "I think I'm just not going to think of expensive wedding gowns for now."

A loud knock resounded from the front door, to which Alice shouted "It's open!" The door swung open and in came my handsome fiancé.

"Hi, sweetheart," Edward greeted. He leaned down so he could kiss me without having me stand. "What are you guys up to?"

"I'm using her as my practice head," Alice answered. "I'd use Jemma or Emma, but I can't find them anywhere!"

"Jemma and – who?"

"My mannequin heads," she told him. "I use them when I want to make new hairstyles and whatever, but it's like they've disappeared off the face of the earth! It's so weird. I've already placed orders for new ones, but today, Bella volunteered, which is awesome."

As Alice spoke, I remained silent in my seat. I knew where Jemma and Emma were, but I wasn't going to tell her; I didn't think she would take too well if she found out that her beloved mannequins had been transformed into impressionist sculptures.

I'd rather subject my hair to her styling.

"It's good practice for her anyway. What with the wedding and all," Alice continued as Edward took a seat on the couch. "Which reminds me. Have you guys set a date yet?"

Edward and I looked at each other for a brief moment.

"Not yet," he spoke. "It isn't going to be too soon into the future, though."

That was a mutual decision we came up with together. With me still in school and Edward having to leave for a few months, we decided it would be smarter to wait a bit before officially tying the knot. There were a ton of things we needed to sort out first.

I felt Alice shrug behind me. "Suit yourselves. I hope you won't wait _too _long, but hey. More time for me to come up with ideas for the wedding. Anyways, you're all done, Bella."

She handed me a small hand mirror. "Wow, it actually looks nice," I nodded in appreciation as I gazed at my reflection.

"Nice to see you have so much confidence my skills," Alice replied dryly. She tossed all her styling equipment onto her trolley and wheeled it away. "Well, I'm off to meet Jasper now. You two behave, alright?"

We said our goodbyes, and as soon as my cousin was out the door, I was on Edward's lap.

"I missed you a lot today," he murmured against the skin of my neck. He pressed a kiss there, making me shiver.

"I missed you, too." It was strange that we missed each other this way; we had seen each other yesterday and spent weeks with each other. I supposed it was a good thing, though. We did plan to spend the rest of our lives together after all.

"How was your day?" I asked. "Create any life-changing software lately?"

"Mm, not quite yet," Edward chuckled then sighed. "I'm just glad I finished a majority of my senior project before spring break. What about you?"

"I accidentally stained Angela's shirt," I told him with a blush. "But she was cool about it since the color matches her new hair. She's definitely going to be on our list of wedding guests."

"Speaking of weddings, Rose told me she and mom have been sending you a bunch of stuff lately," he looked at me apologetically. "Sorry about that."

I pecked his lips. "Don't be; I find it nice that they want to be involved. I don't think they've grasped that we aren't getting married right away, though," I chuckled.

"I wonder what your parents'll think," Edward pondered. "You know, this might sound strange, but I'm not nervous about finding out."

"I'm glad to hear that, but that's too bad."

"Too bad?"

"If you were nervous, I would've suggested we find some…distractions before talking to them tonight," I whispered the words in his ear, my hand travelling down his chest. "Did you know we haven't christened my bed yet?"

All the words haven't even left my mouth yet and Edward was already carrying me to my room.

"You're right. We haven't christened this yet, have we?" he sounded like a predator as he tossed me on the mattress. "Well, we won't be able to say that after tonight."

…

"Baby! Oh, look at you. You're absolutely glowing," Mom gushed. I have no idea how she sees my 'glow' through the grainy webcam feed, but I wasn't going to argue. "And Edward, you're looking handsome as ever."

"Thanks, Renee," Edward grinned bashfully beside me.

"We're sorry we couldn't speak to you last time, Bella. Your dad just got home from his shift then and you know what the uniform does to me – "

"Uh, Ren, maybe we should let the kids talk," Dad interrupted her with a gruff cough. "They look like they're going to burst."

"Right," Mom giggled. "So, what did you want to tell us? Is it good news?"

"It is," I smiled just as Edward tightened his hold around my shoulders. "Mom, Dad. Edward and I are engaged," I held up my left hand to show the ring.

"Oh my god," Mom gasped. "You're...? That's amazing! Oh, baby, I'm so happy for you!"

"Really?" Dad's eyebrows went up. "That…that was quick."

"We want to do this, Dad," I spoke up. I had been anticipating this moment and you better believe I had a speech prepared. "I love him and we know this is the right time for us."

Dad surprised me by chuckling. "I know, Bells, I know. And I know he loves you, too. I was just surprised, that's all. You work fast, son."

"Well, chief, when the time's right, the time's right," Edward chuckled. They shared a knowing look I knew I had to ask him about later.

"Son! Oh my god, Charlie, we have a son!" Mom cried. "I'm feeling so hashtag blessed right now. My ovums are exploding!"

"Er, Ma, that's 'ovaries'," I laughingly corrected her. The look on Dad's face that screamed 'I'm weirded out by this, but I'm used to it' just made me laugh harder.

"Sorry," Mom wiped her eyes. "I just can't believe this is happening. When Jacob pointed out the ring you had on in your last video, I didn't want to – "

"Wait, wait," I sobered up instantly. "Jacob saw my ring?"

I tried to remember what happened on the day I filmed my last video. A few days after coming home, I made cake in a mug, a recipe that required only a microwave and mixing skills. I was sure I had taken my ring off after washing my hands, so I wondered how the hell Jacob spotted it. Was it in the background somewhere?

But then I remembered.

After finishing everything, Alice accidentally deleted a huge chunk of footage while trying to find a certain bloopers clip. Since the recipe was easy, we reshot everything, but by then, my ring was already back in place.

_Well…shit. _

"…and asked if you and Edward were engaged. I said no, of course, because you'd tell your mother important events like that. Hashtag family first and all that. Jacob asked me to play the video again, and a few seconds in, he pointed to a ring on your finger.

"I didn't want to hope or get too excited, but now…wow! I'm allowed to be the eager mother-of-the-bride! Oh, we have so much to plan. I should make a new Pinterest board for this!"

As Dad tried to get Mom to take it down a notch, Edward and I turned to look at each other. I gave him a nervous smile and he simply kissed my temple. "People were going to find out eventually," he murmured. "It'll be okay, Bella."

Thinking of the comments I just knew were in that video, I hoped he was right.

…

**pipelynn **9 minutes ago

0:12 IS THAT A RING I SEE?!

* * *

**Leibeezer **9 minutes ago

i keep seeing comments about bella's ring being fake. you people are either blind or in denial, that is TOTALLY an engagement ring

* * *

**Capricorn75 **10 minutes ago

#CULLEngagement

btw love the recipe bella! definitely trying this out tonight

* * *

**DarkAndAngsty **10 minutes ago

gosh that cake looks good. wish i could eat my screen lol. are you and **+CULLEngage** engaged? i keep seeing it mentioned in the comments (sorry a little new here) if you are, congrats ^^

* * *

**Estella **11 minutes ago

OH MY SHIPPER HEART. ARE THEY ENGAGED?! *cries* **+BelleBiter +That'sMzPeachesTYVM**

* * *

"_Hoooo_ lord," I rubbed my cheek absently while my eyes went over the comments. I haven't read them yet because I tended to respond to them all at the same time, though I was beginning to regret that technique. Maybe if I'd seen the first few comments, I would've braced myself better.

Edward exited the bathroom and saw the look on my face. "Is it that bad?"

"They're actually…pretty nice. I just can't believe I forgot I had my ring on," I laughed as he sidled next to me. "Come look."

"These aren't bad at all," Edward remarked as he scrolled down. "Pretty standard subscriber behaviour, I'd say."

"More like typical bro behaviour," I elbowed him playfully before resting my head on his shoulder. "Your fans are a little crazy, but then again, so are you and your fiancée."

"Can't argue with that," Edward grinned. We continued to go through the comments section, laughing at the amusing ones and cringing from some of the weirder ones until we reached a point where the comments went from happy speculations to just plain hating.

* * *

**NicHer** 45 minutes ago

i smeel a gold digger…

* * *

**The Useless Dude** 2 hours ago

lol at all the stupid fangirls. edward isnt stupid enough to tie himself to this bitch

…tho she has some use in the kitchen lolololol

* * *

**Charphony **3 hours ago

gotta hand it to this chick she knows what shes doin. she works fast too no looks no talent but she has over 40k subscribers thanks to edward. if they get hitched she'll be set for life!

* * *

"Ah, so here's where all the bad comments are," Edward said dryly. "Pushed down to the bottom where they belong."

"Yeah," I cleared my throat. Memories of the restroom debacle began to bombard my brain again.

"Hey," Edward's gentle shaking snapped me out of my funk. "What's wrong? You look far away," he glanced at the laptop again. "Are you upset by these?"

"Um, no, not exactly," I tried to smile. "You know I can handle some regular ol' trolling – I mean, they're entertaining half the time – but…well, remember back in California? When I took so long in the ladies' room?"

Edward nodded curiously, and I proceeded to tell him all about the nasty words I unwittingly heard. I didn't drag the story out too much, but even so, Edward's jaw still clenched in anger.

"Those girls who wanted to take a group photo? They were the ones who were spouting that shit?"

"Just two of them."

"Fuck," he pinched the bridge of his nose. While he calmed himself down, I pushed the locks of hair that fell on his forehead back.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I didn't want to ruin dinner. Then there was the announcement of your job, too, and all the excitement that happened after. The whole thing slipped my mind, honestly, and those comments just brought it back now."

Edward's eyes softened and he pulled me into a tight embrace. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I know it's shitty advice to tell you to just ignore them, but I hope you do, because all of what they've been saying are lies."

"You don't have anything to apologize for," I kissed the underside of his jaw. His kindness made me wonder what I ever did to deserve him.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Bella. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I wish I can just…block all of these from you. God knows you never did anything to warrant them."

"It's okay," I readjusted my position so I could look into his eyes. "I'll admit, they hurt me before and caused a great deal of overthinking, but I love you, Edward, and I know you love me. And at the risk of sounding cheesy here, as long as that's still the case, I can take anything the Internet can throw at me."

"I'll take your cheese any day of the week," Edward leaned in so that our lips were touching. "And I really do love you, Bella. I can't wait for the day you'll finally be mine."

"Silly, I'm already yours," I giggle escaped me as we came together in a sweet kiss.


	20. Chapter 20

"What did you say his parents' names were again?"

"Ooh, and what do they do?"

I smirked a little to myself as the taxi taking us to the restaurant began moving again at the flash of a green light. It was a week from Edward's graduation ceremony, and Edward and I thought it would be a good idea to have our parents finally meet each other.

Surprisingly, I wasn't worried about them not getting along. I knew Carlisle and Esme would love them, and my own parents were excited if their constant questions were any indication.

"His mom Esme is an interior designer," I answered. "And his dad Carlisle runs an accounting firm back in Chicago."

"An interior designer? Oh, we're going to get along just fine," Mom clapped excitedly. "You know, I've been thinking of redoing the house for a while now. Paint the kitchen cabinets a brighter color, replace that horrible carpet in the living room, maybe even convert the guest room into a nursery…" she beamed at me.

"Mom, I'm not pregnant."

"I know, baby, I know. I just want to be prepared. Besides, have you _seen _how adorable all the baby stuff is now? I wish they'd been available when you were born. Though hashtag throwback, the murals I painted on your walls were the cutest things."

_I'm sure Nana Cullen would love to have a reason for me to paint murals, _I thought, my lips quirking into a smile. She, Rose, Lauren, Emmett, Alice and Jasper were going to be joining us tonight as well.

The rest of the taxi ride was filled with more questions about the Cullens. Where were they originally from? Did Edward have any siblings? How old was everyone? Mom even asked about hair colors.

The inquisition only stopped when the taxi did in front of the Hilton.

"Wow," Mom's eyes wandered around the lavishly decorated lobby as we entered. "_This _is where we're having dinner?"

"Pretty much. It was Carlisle's suggestion, which Alice approved of," I said with a shrug. "Apparently, they have brick oven pizzas that are 'to die for'."

"To die for or not, this place looks mighty expensive," Dad commented. "How…well-to-do is Edward's family, exactly?"

"Er…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Very?"

Dad grunted and Mom looked concerned. "Really? But…they're nice right? I'm not saying that all rich people are snooty, but…"

"Don't worry, they are. Nice, I mean," I said. A wave of déjà vu washed over me, although back then it was me who needed the assuring. "I think you're really going to like them."

"That's good," she exhaled. "Because it would suck if we can't be friends with them. I mean, can you imagine how weird family reunions would be like? Totally awks, am I right?"

"I can just imagine," I chuckled. We stepped into the elevator and ascended to Herb N' Kitchen where the maître d' greeted us enthusiastically. According to him, Edward gave very precise descriptions of what we looked like and any guest of the Cullens' were to be treated as VIP's.

"Are they here already?" I asked. Edward's last text was from fifteen minutes ago, and it was a random one to inform me of his lack of matching socks.

"Yes, madam. They're at the chef's table," he gestured for us to follow him through the tables of the main dining room and a narrow hallway. "Miss Brandon and Mr. Whitlock aren't yet, but I'll be sure to lead them when they arrive."

I nodded in thanks just as my future family came into view.

"Bella!" Edward was the first to greet me. He got up from his seat to give me a chaste kiss on the lips. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hey," I greeted back as my hands went to his strong biceps. He purposely flexed them, making me laugh and kiss his him again.

Dad's cough and Mom's giggle made us part a few inches. My cheeks burned, but Edward was unfazed as he turned to them.

"Charlie, Renee. It's great to see you again."

"You, too, son," Dad put his hand out for a shake. "Oh, and congratulations, by the way. When's the big commencement ceremony?"

"Next week. And thank you," Edward smiled.

"Your folks must be really proud."

"They are," he turned to look at the table behind us. "Speaking of whom, I should probably introduce you now. Guys, these are Renee and Charlie – Bella's parents. Renee and Charlie, these are my mom Esme, my dad Carlisle, my sisters Rose and Lauren, and my grandma. Oh, and the big guy's Emmett."

'Hi's' and 'nice to meet you's' ensued, followed by us settling in our seats.

_This should get interesting._

…

"So, Esme," Mom began after a fancy bread appetizer was placed on the table. "Bella tells me you're an interior designer?"

"Oh, yes. I run a firm back in Chicago," Esme nodded. "It's not huge by any means – we only operate locally – but I enjoy it a lot. What about you, Renee?"

"I don't really have a job, but I like to sell some of my knitted stuff over at Etsy," Mom shrugged modestly.

"Knitting? Wow, I can't believe I'm speaking to an actual person who shares that hobby," Esme leaned forward excitedly. "I never got any of my girls interested in it."

"Mom, I'm pretty sure we've established from early on that I'm not really cut out for anything domestic," Rosalie said with a laugh.

"Plus, after I almost poked Edward's eye with the needles, I thought we agreed that I should never try knitting again," Lauren added. Edward involuntarily shuddered beside me at the memory, making everyone laugh.

"Well, you two can pull off the clothes," Mom patted Rosalie's hand. "It doesn't matter that you can't make them."

"Speaking of making clothes, where's Alice?" Edward squeezed my hand. "Has she texted you?"

I got my phone out to check. "Nope, nothing. Maybe she and Jasper forgot the way here or something."

"Jasper?" both Dad and Lauren said at the same time, but in completely different tones. Dad had his eyebrow raised, and I suddenly remembered how he threatened Jasper the last time they saw each other. Lauren, on the other hand, had a look of nervous anticipation on her face.

Carlisle looked from my father to his daughter. "Lauren?"

"Don't worry about it, Dad," Lauren said. She hurriedly wrenched a compact out of her purse and began to check her reflection in the small mirror. "Hey, Rose, do you have any mascara I can borrow?"

"Oh here we go," Rosalie rolled her eyes, but handed her handbag over.

"What's going on?" I was bewildered. "What's wrong with Jasper?"

"Nothing's wrong with him. Lauren just has a crush," Emmett announced loudly, making poor Lauren blush. "I caught her scrolling through his Facebook yesterday."

"Shut up. No, I don't," Lauren insisted vehemently.

"How do you know him?" I inquired. "I mean, have you guys met before or…?"

"No. Um, Alice added me as a friend a few days ago and I just…kinda stumbled onto Jasper's profile," Lauren fidgeted. "And the only reason why I stayed there is because I like his band's music."

"Right. That's what you're really interested in," Emmett laughed. "Don't you already have a boyfriend? That Tyler dude?"

"There's a new one?" Carlisle asked calmly, though I can hear the protective undertone in his words. "I wasn't informed of that."

"Something about Jasper spells trouble to me, anyway," Charlie said gruffly.

Esme and Mom automatically chastised their respective husbands while Lauren looked like she wanted to be swallowed by the ground. All I could do was laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Well, I don't have a problem with my little Laurie dating," Nana Cullen spoke up. "You go ahead and keep looking, sweetie. I didn't get to your grandfather without going through a few beaus."

"Ma," Carlisle groaned at the same time the topic of discussion finally showed up.

"Hey, sorry we're so late," Alice pranced into the room with Jasper in tow. She gave Mom and Dad a kiss on the cheek before giving me and Rosalie a hug. "Traffic was a bitch and our driver apparently misunderstood us and drove all the way to the other side of town," she plopped down on a chair. So anyway, what'd we miss?"

We all remained silent and simply stared at her. Luckily, Alice being Alice, she ignored or didn't notice the awkwardness and instead, reminded me to introduce her and Jasper to the Cullens they haven't met yet.

Of course, when I mentioned Lauren, Edward's younger sister reddened and waved shyly.

"I don't know if I should find it funny or be disturbed by the fact that my sister likes Jasper," Edward whispered into my ear. "By the way, why does your dad hate Jasper so much again?"

"You know what, I have no idea," I whispered back. "I mean, he never had a problem with you."

"That's because I'm a good boy," Edward grinned.

I snorted. "If he really thinks that, he's probably never really watched any of your videos," I nudged him teasingly. "Like your last one."

"Hey, I'm sure that if he ever sees that, he'll appreciate my twerking abilities."

I laughed quietly. "I'm sure he will."

"Edward," Nana Cullen's loud voice snapped us out of our bubble. "Is what they're saying true? You won't get married yet?"

"Nana, we talked about this," Edward patiently spoke. "I have to be away for a few months and Bella'll be busy with school."

"But you have all these people here who want to help. Esme, Renee, Alice…is this about money? I'll pay for the whole thing myself if you want."

"Ma, that won't be necessary," Carlisle placated his mother. "And if Edward and Bella want to wait for a bit, then we'll wait, too."

Nana Cullen pouted and slumped against her seat.

"Maybe you can borrow Mr. Jiggles for a while," Rose suggested.

"Cats won't do," Nana Cullen sighed. "Though kittens…kittens might work…"

As Nana Cullen pondered on that, my parents looked curiously at us.

"She just really wants great-grand kids," Esme answered their unspoken question. "You know how the elderly can be sometimes. Eager to see their family expand as much as possible."

"I see," Mom nodded slowly. The whole table was plunged into silence again until Dad coughed and decidedly changed the subject.

"Er, so are you into sports, Carlisle?"

…

After Nana Cullen's sudden outburst about not having any babies to coddle over any time soon, I thought for sure that the rest of the night would end up in an awkward mess.

I was wrong, however, and it's all thanks to Dad.

After opening up the topic of sports, Carlisle, and Emmett, both avid fans of football and hockey, immediately joined into the conversation. Even Jasper got involved after a while. It didn't take long for them to be fully immersed in it, leaving Alice to chat with Rosalie and Lauren, and my Mom to exchange stories with Esme and Nana Cullen.

"Well, this is working out just fine," Edward said happily. His eyes roved around the table. "Though I'm kinda concerned that our mothers might be talking about our embarrassing childhood escapades."

"Do you have any that you're worried about?" I asked.

"Not particularly. Although…looking back, I remember I used to have a stuffed unicorn named Winslow," he told me. "I'm pretty sure I brought him as my date to the preschool dance."

"All the girls must've been so jealous," I teased.

"Oh, you bet they were. It was a sad day when I lost him in one of Rosalie's talent shows. Luckily, Nana Cullen came to the rescue by giving me Mr. Jiggles."

"So Mr. Jiggles is really _your _pet?"

"Officially, yeah. He's pretty much the family's now, but I'm the only one who can discipline him properly."

"How can I forget '_Deutschland'?_" I chuckled.

Edward laughed with me. "_'Deutschland' _is very important. What about you? Any embarrassing stories you want your future husband to know?"

"Hmm, let's see," I sorted my childhood memories into those that were funny and those that were just plain mortifying. "I was scared of my Uncle Peter at some point."

"What?" the incredulous look on Edward's face was amusing. "How'd that happen?"

"Well, he travelled a lot when I was a kid, and when he came back, I remember he had this hardcore beard and mustache combo going on. I didn't recognize him at all, so when he tried to hug me, I screamed bloody murder. I couldn't go near him until he shaved all of it off."

"Huh," Edward absently rubbed his chin where some scruff was growing. "Would you prefer it if _I _shaved?"

My hand reached out to caress his rough stubble. "I'd love you with or without beard," I said honestly. Edward flashed me a gorgeous grin before leaning forward and capturing my lips with his.

"Aww, aren't they just adorable," I heard Mom coo. The attention made Edward and I separate. "I ship them so much!"

"Um, thanks, Renee," Edward's ears turned red while Rosalie and Lauren giggled at the background.

"You know, I hear that word tossed around a lot by some of my OJT's," Carlisle said. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"I think it means liking a couple or something," Dad offered. "That's what I got from listening to Renee, anyway."

"Actually, that's pretty spot on," Lauren nodded. "I'm surprised you know fangirl lingo, Mrs. Swan."

"Really, dear. It's Renee," Mom said to her. "And of course I know the lingo. I'm hashtag hip, y'know?"

…

The rest of the meal went on smoothly with everyone enjoying themselves. That's probably even an understatement, because by the time desert was served, Mom and Esme were calling each other Mae and Nae, and Dad and Carlisle had tentative plans to go see a game sometime soon.

Alice and Jasper got along swimmingly with Rosalie, Lauren, and Emmett, of course, though Lauren still blushed whenever Jasper would address her.

As for me, I was just extremely happy that mine and Edward's families could gel so well.

"I would like to propose a toast," Carlisle stood with his wine glass held high. "To family, new friends, opportunities, and more great times like this."

"And great-grand babies!" Nana Cullen added. "Can't forget those."

"Sure," Carlisle chuckled. "And great-grand babies."

"But not too soon," Dad gave Edward and I a pointed look, earning laughter from the table.

"Cheers!" everyone raised their glasses and drank to the promising future ahead of all of us.


	21. Chapter 21

"Jiggy! _Deutschland!_"

I stopped my sketching and stared expectantly at the little fur ball who jumped on my table. Big blue eyes stared back at me for a while, but after a look from me, Jiggy meowed and went back to the floor.

"I named you well, little man," I chuckled to myself and readjusted my tripod. When Nana Cullen gave me a kitten a few days ago, the first thought I had was how much the adorable ball of fluff looked like Mr. Jiggles with the patterns on his long fur. It was what made me name him after the Cullens' pet.

As soon as I brought Jiggles Junior – or just Jiggy – home, though, I discovered that he was just like his namesake in terms of personality, too.

He found joy in jumping on things and knocking stuff over. I would have had a broken camera yesterday and my last mural would have been covered in tiny paw prints had the original Mr. Jiggles' scold word not have worked.

Thank God for Germany.

After righting the bottles of paint Jiggy knocked over, I resumed the portrait I was working on for my new YouTube channel.

I've thought about putting out art videos before, but I wasn't quite ready to expose myself that way then. Now, though, thanks to encouragement from Edward and Angela, ForksintheStudio was up and active. I still posted videos in my original cooking channel of course, but it felt nice to have another outlet for my creativity.

I finished my piece about an hour later, and once my name was signed in the corner and I said goodbye to my viewers, I turned off my camera and scurried to the computer. Edward and I had scheduled a Skype call in a few minutes, and no way was I going to miss it.

Though he had only been gone for two months, I already missed him a lot. I even cried myself to sleep the night his flight took off. Of course, I didn't let him know that little incident so that I wouldn't distract him, but it was difficult to put up a brave front sometimes.

Luckily, our bi-weekly Skype calls were there to the rescue.

"Hi, sweetheart," Edward greeted when the call fell through. His hand pushed back his copper locks, which, I noticed, have grown longer since the last time I spoke to him.

"Hey," I smiled. "How's Washington?"

"Alright," he replied. "We're starting on character design now, which is very…intricate. I wish you can send me some of your artistic voodoo so I can make a prettier avatar."

"You have enough artsy-fartsy in you to pull it off, I'm sure. What type of character are you making, anyway?"

"Well, I tried making a Tekken-inspired dude the other day, but since I couldn't get the hair right, I nixed the whole idea and decided to go with a girl character instead."

"A girl, huh?" I raised my eyebrow slightly. "Let me guess: you're going to be playing with boob bounce physics next."

"Boob physics? Of course not," Edward snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'm more concerned about the ass, to be honest."

The laugh I let out was so loud that Jiggy cringed away from the ball of yarn he was playing with. "I stand corrected, then. I forgot you were an ass man."

"Only if it's yours, sweetheart. Only if it's yours."

"Ah. Well, I'm glad to know my butt has served as your inspiration at some point."

Edward chuckled, but after a while, his face softened. "The whole of you served as my inspiration, really. Wait," his eyes left the webcam for a moment, and I heard the sound of mouse clicks.

A new e-mail arrived in my inbox a few seconds later. Upon checking, it turned out to be from Edward. With a questioning glance at the webcam, I opened the message and instantly gasped in surprise. The image that the e-mail contained was that of…me.

Well, it was a CGI, really, but after just one look, it was easy to see who the character was supposed to be. The hair, the shape of the eyes…even the slightly larger ears were in place to really capture what I looked like.

"Edward…" I struggled to find the right words to say. "Edward, this…this is me."

"It is," Edward nodded. "I only started on it yesterday morning, so it still needs some work, especially with the detailing and the coloring and all that jazz, but it'll be better. I can – "

"I look beautiful here."

An exhale of relief escaped Edward's lips. "Even more in real life."

"Is this really how you see me?"

"It is. You're gorgeous, Bella."

"Wow," I continued to stare at the picture he sent me. I was still at awe that Edward would do something so extraordinary for me. "This is amazing, Edward. Thank you so much."

"I'm glad you like it. _Really _glad, actually, because I was thinking…" Edward fidgeted a little before continuing. "Since Em is taking over the game he and I both worked on last semester, I've been thinking of making my own with the protagonist being a lot like…well, you."

My eyes widened. "You seriously want to do that?"

"You're the perfect inspiration, sweetheart. Strong, beautiful, independent, smart…would look sexy wielding a giant machine gun…"

I chuckled as I imagined a sexier version of myself, probably in skimpy clothing and holding a badass machine gun over my shoulder.

"So what do you think of that idea?" Edward asked. "Are you okay with it?"

"Okay? Edward, I'm honoured," I replied honestly. "It's so…mind-blowing that you want me to be a part of something that I know is important to you."

His smile gave away his sincerity. "I'm so happy to hear you say that. I already have so many ideas of what I want to do."

"Well, I think your next order of business should be change the machine gun idea," I said in mock seriousness. "Maybe a giant scythe like Dante's from _Inferno_."

"Or maybe just the power to knock enemies down with your bad jokes," Edward laughed.

"That might actually work," I said. "After all, the pun is mightier than the sword, right? Or maybe we should modify your original idea into to a machine pun instead."

Edward laughed louder and I couldn't help but join him. After the mirth died down, he smiled softly before letting out a sad sigh. "I miss you, Bella."

"I miss you, too," my fingers traced his handsome features, wishing so badly that I could actually touch him through my screen. "So, so much."

"God, I can't wait to come home and make you my wife."

"I – Jiggy!"

"What?" Edward looked obviously confused at my outburst, but I had to right my webcam first before I could explain. Somehow, Jiggy had managed to climb my shelf in order to swat at the tiny camera.

"_Deutschland!" _I scolded him, and the mini-Mr. Jiggles jumped down to my desk.

"_Deutschland?" _Edward sounded even more confused now. "Are you babysitting my family's cat or something?"

"No," I said, suddenly remembering that Edward didn't know about my new kitten yet. "Um, that reminds me. I want to introduce you to someone," I gently lifted the cat up so he could be seen through the camera. "This is Jiggy."

I quickly went on to explain how I've acquired a new pet last Thursday when Nana Cullen unexpectedly showed up at the door with a cat cage. Thankfully, she arrived with all the cat essentials, too, so I wasn't left totally defenseless.

"Unbelievable," Edward marvelled. "So she really got to breeding those cats up in Chicago, huh?"

"Apparently," I chuckled. "She said he's to help us practice. You know, for when a baby's around."

"That explains it. I wonder, though. Why'd she give him now?" Edward asked. "Don't get me wrong – I'm okay with having a pet running around, but you haven't even moved into our place yet. And I'm not around to help you look after him. If he's a lot like Jiggles senior as you say he is, then he must be a handful."

Since Edward already owned the flat he and Emmett had moved out right after graduation to travel with Rosalie, Edward and I decided we would live there until I graduate or until we decide to move elsewhere. I was just staying with Alice until the four months of separation were up.

"I'm doing okay, honestly," I placed Jiggy on my lap. "He's a bit mischievous, but I like him here. He's great company especially since I'm alone so much these days."

"You're alone a lot? Isn't Alice there?"

_Shit, _I mentally slapped myself. Yes, Alice was spending more and more time in Jasper's place now than ours, but I didn't really want Edward to know that. I knew he would worry too much, and judging by the look on his face, that was exactly what he was doing.

"Alice still technically lives here, yeah," I answered carefully. "The sleepovers at Jasper's are just occurring…more now, that's all. It's no big deal."

I could tell Edward wanted to say something in response, but thankfully, he dropped the subject.

The rest of the call went on with lighter topics, like how school was going, the interesting characters over at Nintendo, and our latest videos. Edward had a short series of vlogs focused on his time in Washington up, but naturally, he still posted a lot of gaming content.

"Because _Witcher 3_'s all done_, _I think I'm going to start _Until Dawn _next week. Or maybe something extremely gory, but I'm kinda hesitant about that," Edward confided.

"Blood and guts on the screen haven't stopped you before," I said. "Which reminds me, _Mortal Kombat _arrived yesterday so you and I can finally have that smack down. What do you say, Takeda? You wanna go at it now?"

"Sure," he reached for his controller and smirked. "Get ready to lose, Sub-Zero."

Once the game was loaded, Edward and I got our game faces on and went head to head in a battle of wits, finger dexterity, and bad-mouthing. I won the second and third round of the match by some miracle, so I was expecting a rematch right away. What got instead was Edward glancing at his watch before flashing me an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he sounded regretful. "You know I'd love to even the score, but I didn't notice the time. I have to go."

"Oh," Disappointed flooded me in an instant though I tried not to let it show.

"It's just that I have plans with the other guys for dinner and – "

"No, no, I get it," I assured him. "It's around dinner time there, right? I mean, I have to let you eat."

"Right. Yeah," Edward rubbed the back of his neck. "We'll talk again soon, I promise. And don't think I won't want that rematch."

I chuckled. "I'm looking forward to it."

We said our goodbyes after more apologies and 'I love you's', and just like that, I was alone again.

Well, Jiggy was asleep by my feet, but he didn't really count.

I sighed as I disconnected from Skype and pandered through the Internet for a while. Nothing exciting was going on on Twitter, no game held any interest for me, and the Internet was too slow for me to download any movie.

That was why I ended up just going to YouTube, specifically, to the CULLEngage channel page.

An involuntary grin took over my face as I watched Edward's videos. His search for the scariest game ever constantly left him at a state of fright, which was really entertaining to watch. As funny as he was, though, I couldn't help but miss him more and wish that he was with me.

The feeling grew even worse when I rewatched our collaborations.

_I wish I was in that moment now, _I thought wistfully to myself. _If only Edward and I were in an infinite video. No stops, no pauses, and no buffering._

_Too bad that's impossible. And you can't be together twenty-four-seven. The man has to breathe, y'know._

_I know, I know. I just…I miss him._

_Me, too, sister. Me, too._

Feeling suddenly tired, I gave up any other plans I had with myself for the night and headed to bed.

…

The feeling of something incredibly warm covering my body woke me up a few hours later. At first, I thought it was Jiggy, but there was no way he could cover that much surface area. Plus, I could make out his form sleeping on a nearby chair.

_So what – or who – was in bed with me?_

I immediately tried to turn around and find out until the sound of a very familiar voice made me freeze.

"Bella," Edward groaned. "Stop squirming so much. You almost hit me in the balls."

"Sorry, sorry," I quickly apologized, though I still wasn't over my shock. "I…um…Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"You're here."

"I am."

"How…?"

Edward's eyes opened and a slow smile spread across his face. He entwined our fingers together before speaking. "I didn't really go out earlier. I just needed a good cover-up so you wouldn't suspect that I planned on flying out here and surprise you."

"Any cover-up would've been good, honestly," I told him. A giddy joy built up in my chest as it slowly sunk in that Edward was here. With me. I couldn't help myself – I launched myself into his arms and kissed him until we were both breathless.

"How'd you get away? And how long can you stay?"

"It was easy, really," Edward murmured with our lips still touching. "All I had to do was to ask for a weekend off. I have to fly back on Monday morning, though."

"It doesn't matter. I'm so happy you're here," I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Welcome home."

"It's great to be back," he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "You look tired, sweetheart."

I shrugged noncommittally while I traced his features. "You have circles under your eyes, too. Haven't you been sleeping well?"

"It's been a stressful two months," he sighed. "But I can rest easier now that I can sleep with you in my arms again."

"We should probably do that now," I suggested just as a yawn ripped through him. I wanted to talk some more and maybe do a few bedroom acrobatics, but he looked so worn out. "After all, we have all weekend together."

"Okay," Edward smiled. He relaxed on the pillow and gazed at me. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too."

As I laid in Edward's arms that night and listened to his breath even out, I thought more about the analogy I made up earlier. As cheesy as it sounded, our love story pretty much was like a YouTube video – one that our viewers were well aware of and one we proudly put under our uploads.

Sure, it may not be the best one out there and a lot of people may not like it, but one thing was for sure: it was a video I would never pause but something I would play and forever put on repeat.

**The End/ Ang Katapusan/ Das Ende**

**This is honestly the one story that I didn't want to end…so I didn't. Not just yet, anyway. Be on the lookout for futuretakes, outtakes, and EPOV versions of selected chapters.**

**Thank you again to everyone who's read and enjoyed this story.**


	22. Uber Facts

Edward's YouTube persona is based on no one else but Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie or the number one most subscribed YouTuber. The Razer headset, calling subscribers bros, the still unnamed Friday video (Fridays with PewDiePie), shouting 'DEUTSCHLAND!' at his mischievous pet (his pug Edgar), and being a fabulous _senpai_ are all inspired by him.

Bella isn't based on any specific YouTuber, but her recipes are taken from SORTEDFood's channel.

Alice also has no real life Youtube basis, but I'd imagine her to be like Kandee Johnson (kandeejohnson). Her mannequin heads, Jemma and Emma, are Lindy Ng's (bubzbeauty) practice heads in real life.

A reviewer, germanAkice, mentioned a few chapters ago that Jackson Rathbone was actually in drag when he starred in an episode of _Criminal Minds. _If you want an idea of how Jasper looked after Alice did his make-up, I suggest you Google image search that and just imagine his hair as blonde.

Bella's hobby of making Photoshop art for extra cash was what Pewds did before he started on YouTube; he mentioned he managed to buy a decent computer thanks to the money he made through that.

The games Edward and Bella played in their first video collaboration – _Starwhal: Just the Tip, Bombsquad_, and _Gang Beasts_ – were played by Pewds and his girlfriend Marzia (CutiePieMarzia) as well.

The brownies Bella and Edward made in chapter 6 are inspired by Dan (danisnotonfire) and Phil's (AmazingPhil) Halloween brownie graveyard video. Dan was the one who made the 'like a breast' comment.

Also, Quil talking about starting #NicerIRL in chapter 17 is a nod to Dan and Phil's #nicerinternet campaign for BBC.

The base of the MY GIRLFRIEND screenshot is a still of Pewds and Marzia in their first BOYFRIEND VS GIRLFRIEND video.

Pewds actually posted a video titled MY GIRLFRIEND years ago as well, though unlike Edward's version, Marzia wasn't in it.

Edward's high school baseball team doesn't exist, though the Badgers plus the yellow and black color scheme are a homage to the Hogwarts house a younger Edward was sorted into.

Marzia took the YouTube boyfriend quiz too, and like Bella, she didn't get her actual boyfriend, but PJ Liguori (KickThePJ). Pewds reacted the same way Edward did: threatening to kill the potential girlfriend stealer. When he took the quiz, he also got himself.

The following YouTubers mentioned in the story have real-life counterparts:

stefanisnotinteresting – danisnotonfire AKA Dan Howell; danisnotinteresting is his side channel

LessAmazingQuil – AmazingPhil AKA Phil Lester; LessAmazingPhil is his side channel

Liam and Riley of Smash – Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla of Smosh; they were the previous most subscribed channel before Pewds took over, but there was never any bitterness between them as they still remain friends.

Tyler Crowley – Tyler Oakley

Colleen Hunter/Victoria Sings – Colleen Ballinger/Miranda Sings

Epic Grub Time – Epic Meal Time

Gianna Hart – Hannah Hart

There are more subtle references scattered all throughout the story that I haven't mentioned, so if you got them, congratulations. We most probably share the same taste in YouTubers.

Stay fabulous, bros!


	23. Chapter 23: An EPOV

"Dude," Emmet whined as he lounged on my bed. "I'm starving."

"What else is new," I retorted. I didn't have time for his moans for hunger – I had to catch a flight in less than an hour and I haven't even packed yet. "Go eat, then."

"But there's nothing in the fridge!" he complained with a wave of his large arm.

"We have a carton of eggs, I think."

"But I don't want eggs. I want something big and meaty."

"That's what she said," I laughed loudly and dodged the hard shove that almost hit me. "Go order a meat lover's pizza or something. You know I'm as shitty as you are in the kitchen."

"Fine," he huffed, but thankfully, got off my bed and left the room. I sighed in relief. Emmett was like a brother to me, but when he was hungry, he was more annoying than slow walkers. And that was saying something.

Within the next ten minutes, I did my best to stuff everything I would need into one backpack, which wouldn't be a challenge if I didn't have to bring my laptop, iPad, camera, and all their respective chargers. They were all necessary, though, so I couldn't just leave them behind.

After all, I planned on doing a short vlog and uploading some pre-recorded videos while I was at Florida for Playlist Live.

I originally didn't plan on going, but thanks to the great persuasion powers of my friends and fellow YouTubers, here I was readying my passport and necessary travel documents to join them for a weekend of meet-and-greets and crazy antics. I didn't mind too much since it was a nice change of pace, but sweet lord, was I going to start my week tired.

"There," I huffed victoriously as I zipped up my bag. Even with all the crap I shoved into it, the backpack didn't look like it was going to throw up. "Genius Edward strikes again. Maybe I can make a living as a professional packer or something."

I hauled the bag onto my shoulder, gathered a jacket in one arm, and walked over to Emmett's room to say goodbye.

"Em," I knocked hastily on his door before opening it. "I'm gonna head out – "

"Wait, wait," he waved his hand around before I could make a move. "You have to check out this video I found."

"Bro, you know I love a good random video much as you do, but I'm gonna miss my flight if I don't move my ass. So, goodbye, for the love of women, do _not _attempt to use the stove, and I'll see you when I – "

"Calm yo titties for a sec. This isn't some shit I randomly found," Emmett pushed back on his chair and gestured to his computer screen. "Take a look and tell me you're not salivating."

I gave up. "Fine," I lumbered to where he was sitting. "What is it that you…_wow_."

"See? Those ribs are drool-worthy, am I right?"

I nodded in agreement, but it wasn't the ribs I was referring to.

Instead, my eyes were focused on the girl cooking them.

She was…well, she was gorgeous. Stunning. Pretty. Or hot, if we're using the Emmett dictionary. Something about her warm, brown eyes and beautiful features just called my attention, and let me tell ya, I was happy to give it.

"…it served with some coleslaw or maybe some corn? Dayum," Emmett's loud voice and stomach patting I snapped me out of my daze. "Do you know a place around here that makes something like that? Walking distance, preferably, 'cause my car's still in the shop."

"I don't know, but wait, did she say what her name is?" the channel that posted the video was called ForksintheKitchen; now unless the girl's name was Forks…or Kitchen (which I highly doubted) I had no idea what she was called.

And I really wanted to find out.

"Uh…" Emmett paused for a moment. "I think she mentioned it at the beginning. Lemme go check."

He dragged the circular video pointer to the start of the video and pulled his headphones out of the speaker socket to let me hear.

"_Hey, everyone! I'm Bella, and welcome to Forks in the Kitchen! Today, I have a giant slab of ribs, so you know what that means. Get ready for the easiest, stickiest, and most delicious barbeque glazed ribs you've ever tasted. Let's get started!" _

"Bella," I repeated her name like I was testing it out. "I like it."

And after watching practically all her videos a few hours later, I found that I liked her, too.

A lot.

…

"Hello…?" an annoying hand waved itself in front of my face. "Edward…you there?'

"Fuck off," I shoved Riley to the side. I was frustrated and the last thing I needed was someone bothering me.

"Whoa, okay. Who pissed on your Cheerio's?" Riley plopped himself next to me. "What's wrong?"

"This fucking Wi-Fi, man," I tugged at my hair with one hand and tapped my laptop with the other. "I don't get it. Did they change the password or something? I can't connect for some reason."

"You're barking up the wrong tree," he replied with a snort. "Hey, Stefan! You know the Wi-Fi password?"

Well, he did have a point. Stefan was always the first one to crack the Wi-Fi code, and the Marriott was no exception.

"It's still the same as last year's," he answered while staring at his own laptop screen.

I growled quietly under my breath. The one time I needed the Internet badly and my laptop decided to be uncooperative.

I just wanted to send Bella a message, dammit. If I delayed my reply any longer, she might start thinking I didn't want to hang out with her anymore, thus jeopardizing our relationship before it even began.

And I did want to try a relationship with Bella. That seems like a crazy idea to have after just watching all her videos, but something about her appealed to me. And it wasn't just her beautiful appearance either. She was smart, witty, obviously a nerd if her references to old school games and horror movies gave anything away, and she knew her way around a hot stove.

If there was a woman who seemed more perfect for me, I had yet to find her.

Of course, if she was actually batshit insane and handled a knife more like Jack the Ripper than Mario Batali, I was epically screwed but, I chose to focus more on what my gut and my heart were telling me.

"What is up with you?" I raised my eyes to catch Riley eying me apprehensively. "You look…jittery."

"I'm fine," I told both him and Stefan as I forced myself to calm down. "I just have to send something really important. It's, uh, kinda urgent."

"Is it homework?" Riley inquired. "I thought you said you already finished everything school-related."

"I did. This doesn't have anything to do with school," I said evasively. "Stefan, can I borrow your laptop?"

Though Stefan looked bored and uninterested before, he was alert now. Or startled and nervous, anyway.

"Er, Edward, I would, but…" he squirmed. "People just seem to find a lot of weird shit whenever they borrow my laptop. My grandma found a folder of incriminating photos the last time she used it. And I thought I deleted that shit!"

"Dude, I couldn't care less if you have a desktop full of llama porn," I persuaded. "I just really need to send a PM."

Stefan still wouldn't budge despite me pulling the most pitiful face I could. It didn't matter anyway because Quil and Liam had shown up with the news that they were ready to leave for dinner.

_Hang on, Bella, _I thought forlornly as I trudged out of the hotel room. _I'll find a way to contact you somehow._

…

The first thing I did once I got home was to throw myself on my bed. Despite all my travels, there really was no other feeling like rolling around in my own mattress and sheets.

I didn't stay there for long, though, because I still had a mission to complete.

And that mission was to reach out to Isabella Swan.

Yes, I knew her whole name now. We can thank my Facebook and Twitter stalking for that and all the other tidbits of information I found out about her. I was eager to know more and I wanted the source to be no one other than the girl in question herself.

Jumping off the bed, I quickly booted my computer and switched on the router to make that happen.

"Ed," a tired voice came from the other side of my door just when I was about to open my web browser. My door swung open and there appeared a very sleepy-looking Emmett. "You're home?"

"Nah, man, I'm just an apparition," I chuckled dryly. "What are you doing up so early? It's not even seven-thirty."

"Well, you aren't exactly quiet in coming home," Emmett yawned as he sat on my bed. "What are you doing?"

"Finally responding to Bella," I told him. He was well aware of my fascination with 'the barbecue girl' (Emmett's words, not mine) and had managed to squeeze in a lot of teasing before I left for Florida. "We're thinking of having a date soon."

I proceeded to tell him about the brief conversation Bella and I had in the comments section and how I have yet to reply. Throughout my spiel, Emmett's expression changed from slightly confused to almost smug.

"Nice," he nodded after I finished. "You work fast."

I smiled. "I can't let her get away."

"Wait, hold on," Emmett held a hand up. "Lemme get this part straight for a sec. She sent you the message a day ago, but because of shitty Wi-Fi, you're only going to send her a message now?"

"Yeah."

"What are you using?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you going to send her a text? E-mail?"

"A private message through YouTube," I answered with a slightly bewildered tone. "Why're you asking?"

Emmett sighed and shook his head. "Edward, Edward, Edward. You have a lot to learn about women, dude."

"Hey, I've had girlfriends before," I said defensively. Well, a girl_friend, _but it was a long-term relationship by high school standards. "And what's wrong with a PM?"

"There's nothing _wrong _with it," Em said. "But take it from me, with your reply being so delayed, that isn't going to be enough. If it were me and Rosie in your situation, you can bet I'll definitely get my ass kicked."

"So what do you suggest I do then," I leaned back against my chair, making it squeak. "Walk up to her front door and apologize in person?"

"No. I'm just saying you should do something more," he replied. "Like…I dunno, giving her a call."

The idea of hearing Bella's voice – speaking directly to me and not to a camera – was appealing, but there was just one tiny issue with that plan. "I don't have her number."

Emmett rolled his eyes like I insulted him. "Leave that to me. Just stay here and get your phone ready."

I opened my mouth to ask what he was going to do, but then I thought of the answer in an instant.

He was going to hack into the student records.

I don't know how he does it. Well, I knew basic hacking, but my knowledge wasn't that extensive. Emmett, however, somehow knew how to weave in and out of the university's tight cyber security system without getting caught.

"Here ya go," the master hacker came waltzing into my room with a scrap of paper ten minutes later. "The phone number of one Isabella Marie Higginbotham-Swan."

"Thanks," I accepted the scrap. "You didn't look up anything else about her, did you?"

"Of course not," Emmett snorted. "I know my computer ethics. The only thing I paid any attention to was her name and her number. Scout's honor."

"You were never a boy scout," I muttered as I simply stared at the digits on my hand. "So, this is it? You're not fucking with me, are you?"

"Dude," he gasped in exaggerated offense. "I happen to take matters of the heart very seriously. Yes, that's her actual number…or at least the one listed in her record. She could've changed it, but you'll never know until you call."

"Okay," I took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

"Ata boy," Em clapped me on the shoulder. "I'll be in the living room when you're done. I wanna know how things go."

"Yeah, sure," I replied absently.

Once the door shut with a resounding _click,_ I told myself to man up and start dialling.

_This is it, _I thought anxiously to myself when the numbers were punched and my phone was at my ear. _What the ever loving fuck are you doing, Edward? What if this isn't her number anymore? It's safer if you just send a – "_

"_Lo?"_

"Hi," I forced myself to calm down. "Is this Bella Swan?"

_Please, for the love of all that's holy, say yes._

"_Yeah."_

Thank you, Jesus.

"Oh, good. I was worried this thing isn't updated," I laughed nervously. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind me calling this early. Er, this is Edward, by the way."

"_Edward?" _Bella repeated in an adorably confused tone. _"Edward, as in…Edward Cullen?"_

I wondered briefly how many Edwards she knew. "Yeah."

"_Holy crap_," she exclaimed. "_I mean, uh…hi. Um, how are you?"_

I held back my laughter, but didn't stop the smile that spread across my face.

Oh yeah, Bella Swan is definitely my type of girl.


	24. Chapter 24: An EPOV

Rosalie always told me I was a heavy sleeper, that not even a stampede could wake me up once I was out. While I agreed for the most part, there were exceptions like when I was late for class or when I needed to finish an urgent project early in the morning.

Oh, and when I realized that Bella's cop father was watching me sleep.

"Chief Swan!" I jerked awake. I noticed right away that Bella and I were still tangled together so I quickly made sure that we were in a more decent position. That was probably a useless move, but I refused to make the conversation even more awkward.

"Sir, we just fell asleep like this, but I swear, nothing –"

"Charlie, did you see where the noise was coming from?"

Renee descended the stairs then in an old-fashioned night gown and a scarf wrapped around her hair. I probably would've smiled at her get-up if it weren't for my heart pounding a million beats a minute.

"Oh, I didn't know you two would be up already," she blinked in surprise and gave a warm smile.

I opened my mouth to restart my explanations and I could tell Bella was about to do the same thing, however, Chief Swan beat us to it. "The noise was just the TV, Ren," he glanced at the two of us. "Apparently, Edward and Bella forgot to turn it off."

"Forgot to – wait, you woke up this early just to watch TV?"

"No, Ma. We both couldn't sleep last night, so we watched a couple of movies," Bella replied with a sheepish look on her face. "The, uh, TV was left on because we both fell asleep in the middle of that."

Though that was legitimately what happened, I still felt a little nervous that neither Renee nor the Chief would believe it. Luckily, Renee nodded understandingly and didn't seem at all flapped.

"Oh, okay," her eyes drifted to Bella without any reservations. "So do you feel like making waffles for breakfast, baby? I kept seeing these waffle posts on Pinterest last night that i'm just _dying _to have one now."

"Um," Bella looked at her dad then to me. "Yeah, sure. I can do waffles," she smiled and squeezed my hand before heading to the kitchen with Renee. Chief Swan gave me a look before following after them.

_Well then, _I grumbled internally. _This is just fucking great._

…

"I'm apologizing," I declared as Bella tied her shoes.

"Um, I forgive you?" she paused to give me a strange yet amused look.

I rolled my eyes. "Not to you. To your dad."

"What for?" she asked. "I don't think he's angry. I mean, he didn't give a lecture or anything, which is what he always does whenever I get in trouble. He was just...surprised, I guess."

"What for? Well, for corrupting his little angel, for one," my hands automatically went to my hair and tugged. "He probably thinks I lured you downstairs to – "

"Okay, okay. Calm yo tits," Bella placed her hands on my 'tits' and I relaxed down significantly. "Dad isn't angry, alright? And he doesn't hate you. Stop panicking."

I stared at her for a second, trying to figure out if she was just placating me or if she meant it. Of course, my innocent girlfriend had nothing but honesty in her eyes. I sighed in concession.

"You're right," I said. "You're right. I'm probably just blowing this completely out of proportion."

"Sounds like something I would do," she smiled. "And 'little angel'? Believe me, both my parents know what a hellion I was to raise. You don't have to worry about corrupting me."

"No, I suppose I don't," I chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

The angel line was really from my dad after he caught Lauren sneaking around with her first boyfriend a couple of years ago. Lee wasn't that horrible of a guy – probably just needed help in not dressing like a douche – but like any father, Dad went ballistic when he saw them making out behind the garage. Lines like 'how dare you corrupt my angel' were thrown around, and by the end of it, Lee was kicked out and Lauren was single again.

I knew all this because like the good sibling I was, I eavesdropped from the kitchen so I could have ammunition to use against my little sister in case she wanted to hold something over me (trust me, that's happened before).

"I still think I should apologize, though," I continued. "Just out of respect. And I don't want our time at the lake to be even more awkward than breakfast."

Because breakfast was seriously the epitome of uncomfortable, even with all the juicy gossip Renee had on everyone in her knitting circle.

"You have a point there," Bella conceded.

We headed downstairs to see the Chief inspecting the equipment we would be bringing with us to the lake. I briefly entertained the idea of postponing our talk, but I knew the longer I put it off, the weirder it would be.

_Now or never, Cullen._

Clearing my throat, I put the right amount of strength in my tone. "Chief Swan? Can I talk to you, sir?"

…

With one last encouraging grin from Bella, I followed Chief Swan to the back porch where worn patio chairs were placed. I could tell Renee revived them with colourful slip covers.

The Chief sat down in one and gestured for me to do the same.

"Sir," I began after a quick organization of thoughts. "I just wanted to apologize for, uh, what happened."

Chief Swan raised an eyebrow at me and his moustache twitched again. "Are you trying to tell me what Bella said isn't true?"

"No! No, not at all," I backtracked. "I just…I know you wanted Bella and I in separate rooms while we're here, and we…didn't end up doing that. I didn't mean to disrespect your rules, sir."

Chief didn't say anything right away, but he eventually nodded. "Thank you," he said. "And I appreciate your apology, Edward. Even though there's really no reason for it."

A sigh of relief escaped my lips. _Thank you, Jesus. _"Great! I mean, uh, I'm…really glad, sir. I don't want our relationship to be strained. I'm sure Bella would like us to get along, too."

"Hm. That she would," he sat back and stared at me contemplatively. His stare began to get to me after a moment, making me want to start moving my hands and beat boxing. It was my go-to filler during the loading screens in my videos, nonetheless, I forced myself to keep still and wait; I didn't think that was appropriate for the situation.

"You care for Bella," Chief Swan broke through the quiet with a statement rather than a question.

"I do," I said truthfully. "I know we've only been together for a few months, but she's very important to me. I…well, I love her."

It wasn't the first time I admitted that – lord knows I've spent many nights just repeating it in my head – however, it was the first time I ever verbalized it. I always thought I'd let Bella know before anyone else, but I guess her dad wasn't so bad.

Not when his eyes softened with understanding because he could tell I was being completely honest.

"That's good to know, Edward. Very good to know," he smiled just as a loud commotion rang from inside the house. "We better get inside, I think. If we want to spend any time at the lake, we better get moving."

**I don't know why a lot of people keep comparing Edward and Bella to Zoella and Alfie, but I must say, I'm a little disturbed. Ed and Bella aren't daily vloggers and they don't do…whatever it is those two claim to. Plus, bluntly speaking, I don't particularly like them or the rest of their group. **


	25. Chapter 25: An Outtake

"How's it going, bros? My name's Edward, and welcome to another Friday video!" Edward jovially greeted the camera lens. "This week, I figured we can do a relaxed Q and A video just like the good ol' days. Oh, and I'm joined by Bella, by the way."

"Hi. I'm here. How're you?" I greeted, but stopped abruptly. "I should stop; this is a one way conversation."

"That's probably a good idea," Edward chuckled. "So last week, I asked you guys on Twitter and Facebook to send me questions with the hashtag 'askbedward', and today, we're going to answer them," he turned to me. "You ready?"

"I'm scared."

"You should be. Alrighty, here's the first question from Nathy."

* * *

**Nathy CULLEngage **March 10, 2015 at 9:02pm

if you guys could be disney princesses who would you be? #askbedward greetings from Brazil!

* * *

"Hands down, I'd definitely be Merida," Edward answered immediately. "My family's originally from Northern Ireland, and that's…close enough to Scotland, I guess. Plus, she and I practically have the same hair."

"Can't argue about the hair part, but didn't she turn her mother and siblings into bears?" I asked. The mental image of Esme, Rosalie, and Lauren as ferocious, fuzzy creatures made me giggle. "Yeah, sounds like something you'd do."

"Hey, Merida's badass. She's all 'I don't need no man' and she's awesome with a bow and arrow. She'd survive the Hunger Games for sure."

"True, true," I conceded. "If I were a Disney princess though, I think I'd probably be Snow White. Given my skin, it's the most obvious answer. And she was my favourite when I was a kid."

"Really? I see you more as Belle," Edward said as he analysed my features. "The name, the hair…"

"So that makes you the Beast."

Edward looked like he was about to say one thing, but decided to change it last minute. "I changed my mind. You can just be Snow White."

"Alright," I chuckled. "Moving on to the next question from The Impossible Twins."

* * *

**The Impossible Twins CULLEngage **March 11, 2015 at 4:32pm

Hi edward! our question for you and Forks in the Kitchen: if you were born the opposite gender, what would your names have been? #askbedward. btw, your videos are awesome ^^

* * *

"My mom can perfectly answer this, I think," I said. "Apparently, when she was pregnant with me, she and my dad thought I was a boy since I moved around so much."

"And what name did they want for a boy version of you?"

"BJ," I admitted. Edward started guffawing. "Well, it was apparently short for Brandon Jacob. It was either that or Richard, anyway."

"Or Dick for short," Edward actually had tears in the corner of his eyes. "Dear Lord, how glad am I that you're a girl."

I laughed with him. "What about you? Did your mom ever think to name you…I dunno, Edwina Antonia or something?"

"No, but if Rosalie were the boy and I were the girl, I would be the one named Rosalie, I think," he replied. "Nana Cullen would've probably insisted they name me after her, though, so I'd either be Gertrude or Bernadine." He shuddered. "Let's just move on, shall we?"

* * *

**SuJaRi **(a)sujari6

(a)ForksintheKitchen (a)CULLEngage whos more fabulous? **#askbedward**

* * *

**XxPurplelovexX** (a)puhhple

**#askbedward** in a battle of fabulousness, WHO WILL WIN? (a)CULLEngage vs (a)ForksintheKitchen

* * *

**read&amp;write** (a)Ninkita

for **#askbedward**: who between you and bella is the fab-er individual?

* * *

Edward scoffed after he read the tweets. "Bros, do you really need to ask that question? The answer is _so _obvious," he pointed himself and mouthed 'me' very clearly.

"He's right, actually," I nodded at the camera with a chuckle. The running joke in almost every comments section of Edward's videos was of him being the fabulous senpai Cullen who will never notice you. No way was I going to dispute that.

"But you hold the title of most beautiful," he kissed my cheek.

"Aw," I pecked him on the lips. "Laying on the cheese, are we?"

"Well, it's true," he nuzzled my jaw, making me blush with the technical PDA we were displaying.

"Maybe we should answer the next question before this turns into a bad porn film."

"That'd get more views."

Edward and I continued tackling questions until we had about ten minutes worth of footage. I didn't count how many we answered, but judging how my cheeks hurt from smiling, there must have been a considerable amount.

"That was fun," Edward leaned back against his chair after turning the camera off. "How did you find your first Q &amp; A video?"

"I enjoyed it," I said. "I have to say, I didn't expect to see so much people liking my stuff, though." All throughout the tweets and posts, there were a lot of people commenting about how they enjoyed my videos as well as Edward's. Sure, my subscriber and viewership count skyrocketed since Edward and I announced our relationship, but I was still surprised.

Of course, there were also those who accused me of using my boyfriend's fame to boost mine, but I thankfully rarely saw opinions like that.

"Well, why wouldn't they? You're easy to like, Bella. And you're great at what you do. I mean, your food _is _how you captured my heart," Edward dramatically placed a hand on his chest while the other rubbed his stomach. "Speaking of which, I'm hungry. You wanna get something to eat with me?"

**This was supposed to be the opening scene of one of the published chapters, but never made the final cut.**


	26. Chapter 26: An Outtake

"Aaand, ta-da!" Alice whipped the towel off my head with a flourish. "Wh – oh no."

"What?" I touched my wet hair. "What is it?"

"Uh…"

"It looks like shit, doesn't it?" I asked defeatedly.

"No! Not at all," Alice reassured me with a smile. "I'm serious. You look…gorgeous."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Then what's with the 'oh no'? That usually indicates that something went wrong, you know."

"Well, it's not _wrong _exactly, but…well, remember how the box said 'mocha late brown'?"

"Yeah…"

"It lied."

"Alice," I groaned. "What did you do to my hair?"

"It just went…darker, that's all," she explained. When I tried to turn around so I could look at the mirror behind me, she stopped me with a strong grip. "No, wait. Let me dry it first so you'll see the real effect. It looks fabulous, I promise. Just different from your old color."

I sighed. There wasn't really any point in arguing, was there? It wasn't like waiting was going to make things worse. "Alright."

Alice went to work with drying my hair and styling it with her thousand-dollar brush. When a lock of hair fell over my eyes, she quickly brushed them back before I could see what color they were.

"There," she declared about five minutes later. Turning my chair, she gestured grandly with her arm. "So what do you think of the new you, Bella?"

I couldn't help my reaction when I saw my reflection. Eyes wide and jaw dropped, I turned to my cousin. "Alice, it's…"

"Black. I know. But don't you think it looks fabulous?" Alice marvelled as she smoothed my hair a bit more. "Your whole look just screams high fashion."

I didn't know what that meant exactly, but I decided to just agree.

"Bella?" a familiar voice from the hallway snapped me out of my hair-induced haze. "Where are you?"

"Edward," I called out. "We're in the bathroom."

"Oh, he's in for a nice surprise," Alice giggled as the sound of footsteps drew nearer. "You're positively smoking. Ugh, this look is so pretty, I feel like I'm going to die. What do you think of using it for the wedding?"

"I think that's a great idea."

And of course, that sentiment didn't come from me, but from my handsome fiancé standing at the doorway.

**Yet another opening scene that ended up being changed before publishing.**

**Interesting news I found today: this story was nominated for one of the Top 10 fics completed in June.**

**If you feel like voting: www twifanfictionrecs com**

**Thank you :)**


	27. Chapter 27: An Announcement

**Hey guys!**

**I just received an e-mail saying that Play, Pause, Repeat was voted as one of the top ten fics of June.**

**Thank you to everyone who made the effort of voting, and of course, thank you again for reading this story.**

**I wish you all the best, and in the words of PewDieWard, stay awesome, bros!**


End file.
